Eternal Shadow Falls
by yasha012
Summary: It's always darkest before the dawn, but how long does that darkness last? Their peaceful times are gone, and though the heroes try to cling to their light, there is nothing that can be done to stop the evil that is descending upon them. Night is falling... (M for language, violence with no graphic details, and death. Third installment of the "Hero" series.)
1. Nightfall

**PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS MEANT TO BE A FAIRLY SHORT STORY! The aim is roughly thirty chapters or so for the main bulk of the story, not necessarily including the beginning chapters and the ending arc. It will _not_ be a long tale like "Hero" and "Eye of the Storm" were.**

 **ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: The chapters will quite possibly be short much of the time, and each will be written as a series of interconnected oneshots. Also, I decided to edit the final chapter of EotS a tiny bit to omit the mention of Knuckles and Rouge being dead. This means that they are _alive_ right now at the start of this tale.**

 **~悪意~**

 **Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this opening chapter... especially for the one whose end is far more deeply tied to current events than anyone may realize.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES FROM THE END OF "EYE OF THE STORM":**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Well, you're on the right track but not totally right. You'll see eventually. ;)**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Nightfall"**

 **~悪意~**

 _Lia was fifteen when it happened. Just weeks shy of her sixteenth birthday, her father went out to do some training… and never returned. As she expected any girl in her situation would do, she went out to search for him when the minutes dragged into hours and the sun started to set. He should have returned home at two, and it was nearing five now. Tardiness was not normal for him. Something was wrong._

 _After twenty long minutes of running and searching, she found him. Instantly, she fell to her knees, too horrified by the sight before her to even breathe. There her father sat, slumped against a tree and soaked from head to toe in his own blood. His head turned limply to one side, Shadow's once alert eyes stared endlessly at nothing, unfocused and clouded over. Both arms rested unmoving by his sides, and his favorite handgun lay in his right hand. It was completely empty of bullets._

 _Her father was dead. Try though she might, she found it impossible to deny. He was all but drained of blood, had been torn nearly to bits by the claws of some unknown creature. For it to have wounded him so thoroughly, for it to have killed him like this… What sort of beast could have done this? She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She could even cry over her loss. As she stood and staggered away toward home, too numb to feel, all she could think to do was call her uncle. If he couldn't help, then no one could._

 **~悪意~**

Years had passed since the fall of the Nocturne Clan. Sonic, whose Chaos had ceased affecting everyone's aging quite a number of decades ago, stood alone in the twilight miles beyond his house. Now aged fifty-seven, just a bit over half of the maximum expected age for his race, he lacked much of the energy he had once possessed for excursions such as this. He was tired, he was confused, he was concerned… and, to top it off, it felt like he was being _watched_.

Something had been hunting him.

He could _feel_ its presence all around him.

It wanted him _dead_.

Gritting his teeth, Sonic turned and ran. He had come out here with the intention of discerning what in the _hell_ had been watching him for the duration of this day, but it was rapidly becoming clear to him that this had been a terrible idea. If he remained out here any longer, if he remained alone for anymore time, he would be killed. There could be no denying that. Whatever was hunting out here, whatever _malevolent_ force was eyeing him… somehow, he doubted he would be able to take it, even if he was young again and back in the prime of his life.

There was something so… so… _horrific_ about this energy he was sensing. Its aura alone conjured up terrible images of monsters and demons and blood and gore and death and suffering in his mind, but he strove to banish them. Focusing on getting back home was imperative. If he could just make it back there and get within the Light barriers around the building… he just knew that it would be enough, somehow. At least, for now it would be.

His only option was to run like hell.

 **~悪意~**

Four days after his unsettling nighttime encounter, the group was struck by another loss. Due to the fact that Sonic's Chaos hadn't been affecting anyone's aging in years and bunnies aged so much faster than most other Mobian species, Cream had grown old… and passed. Looking at her soft, peaceful face in her casket during her early morning funeral made Sonic's heart ache. He was reminded too strongly of Merry when she had died, of everyone else they had had to bury up until this point. Pain was something he strove to avoid, but on this day and in this room… it was palpable.

Perhaps no one was more grief-stricken on this day than Meredith, West, and Sunny, Cream and Charmy's three adult children (all of whom looked like bunnies like their mother). Still, everyone else ("everyone" being all of Sonic's living friends and relatives, as well as all their grown children and the children of _those_ children) was here as well, and they were _all_ feeling the effects of the loss. But while most of the others focused on the here and now, Sonic's mind continued to drift into the past, to the loss of rest of the Meredith, West, and Sunny's family.

It wasn't as if the trio had had a very large family to begin with. At least, as far as biological family went. Right from the beginning, it had just been their parents and Vector (though he was more of a _adoptive_ grandfather instead of an actual one). The death of their mother was bad enough on its own, but she had not been the first to die. Instead… she had been the last. Charmy had died several years before while working a case for the Chaotix Detective Agency, which he had still been very actively involved in right up until his death. No one save for him and Vector knew what sort of case the bee had been working on in Filmdom City, but it hardly mattered anymore. What mattered was that something had gone wrong, and he had been stabbed to death. His body had been found in an alleyway thanks to his communicator's tracker one week later.

Driven by a need for closure, Vector had sought out Charmy's killer. In an attempt to bring the person to justice, he had conducted his own research and, presumably, found the person responsible. He had confronted the person, but his vendetta proved fatal. He had been shot for his efforts at bringing the person down, and his wounds had later caused him to die in a nearby hospital. However, his death had accomplished what he had hoped, and the killer was eventually locked away.

Thinking about these three deaths, Sonic felt himself grow more and more tense… as always seemed to happen when he started getting upset. _Who else is going to die?_ he caught himself wondering. _And when?_ Emerald eyes glanced to Jet, who stood across the room from him. _Certainly not you…_ He looked away, bit his lower lip, and quickly tried to force himself lighten his thoughts. He attempted to convince himself that everyone around him had a higher chance of dying peacefully as Cream has as opposed to violently like Charmy and Vector had. However, with that mysterious and malevolent force, _whatever_ in the hell it was, still lurking out there somewhere… he just couldn't do it.

Looking around, Sonic again spotted Jet. Now, however, the hawk (who was as young as ever) was no longer standing alone. Shadow, whom Sonic had revived as soon as he could years back (right around Lia's seventeenth birthday), had joined him at some point. The pair were exchanging quiet words and occasionally giving Cream's peaceful form long and almost pensive looks. It was about as sad as either of them ever typically looked, and the sight of it really drove home just how sad this truly was. Still… Sonic couldn't let himself dwell on it. He had something else he had to focus on. He had to know what that… that _thing_ was. And there was only one person he could think of who would likely know.

Mind made, Sonic walked over to Jet and pulled his aside. The funeral could and would continue without them, least for a short while. The two of them stepped outside away from prying eyes and ears. Only then did Sonic finally open up about his experience in the woods that night. He told Jet about the sensation of being hunted, about the terrible aura and everything it had caused him to think and feel, the strange knowledge that this thing had wanted to _slaughter_ him…

With every detail Sonic gave, Jet grew more and more tense and upset until he finally burst out with, "Why in the hell didn't you say anything _sooner_ , Sonic?!" This sort of an outburst from Jet was rare for him these days. Once upon a time, before he had gone off to join the Syxan War, it had been commonplace, but now it was not. The fact that it had happened here and now only further proved to Sonic that something about all of this was genuinely _terrible_.

Sonic didn't answer the question, instead choosing to just ask his own. "Do you know what it _is_ , Jet?" he pressed, desperate for information.

Jet took in a breath to calm himself, then said, "You've been told about it before. Most refer to it by a sort of nickname, 'the Night'. In truth, it is called Malevolence. ...For reasons you likely understand in part now."

Emerald eyes lit up in shock and horror combined. "Wait, _what_?!" he exclaimed. A second later, he added, "Why in the hell is that thing just _now_ doing shit?!"

Suddenly, Jet was irritated again. "Because that's what it _does_ , Sonic. It bides its time, waits for the perfect opportunity to strike against whatever it wants to destroy, and then makes _dammed_ sure that whatever it goes after dies in the _worst_ fucking way possible."

"Why is it _here_?" Sonic demanded. "Is it because of Kethro?"

"No," Jet bit out. "It's because the fucking thing feeds on Light, draining it from anything and _everything_ that has it. And in case you haven't noticed, there are a _lot_ of people with a _lot_ of Light living on this world."

Faces and names flashed through Sonic's mind in rapid succession. Himself, Silver, Grey, his daughter Ash, Sen, Sen's children North and Cage, Kohaku, Ava… His heart rate picked up. Countless possibilities of how all these people and more might soon be taken away swirled through his mind's eye like a hurricane. _Oh, god… not this again… not this again…_ He couldn't take more horror and death. He couldn't do it. But he had no choice.

The Night had come…

And it had every intention of further ruining this day.

 **~悪意~**

 **1,742 words this time. So... this is starting off on a bit of a morbid note. Uh... yeah. Hope you all enjoyed, anyway. Also, sorry for the delay in posting. Stuff happened yesterday and... basically I wasn't feeling well. Posts may be slow for a time because of that. Sorry. Also, a little side note, the linebreaker means "malevolence", "malice", "hostility", etc. Which… will be relevant for a reason that shall become extremely obvious soon.** **Posted (at about 1:45 p.m.) 09-27-18.**


	2. The Hunger

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this discussion... especially for the one who seems to have all the facts.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES FROM THE END OF EOTS:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Awesome. :D**

 **REVIEW REPLIES FROM CH. 1:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Good! It's meant to. ;) Uh, yeah... definitely poor Sonikku. Oh, thank you. I do as well. This sucks, needless to say. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! YEP, IT'S FINALLY TIME. AND YES, YES IT IS. A TERRIBLE IDEA, INDEED.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Gathering"**

 **~悪意~**

"What the hell are we going to do, Sonic? This is the third time we've been attacked by that thing in two weeks!"

"We have to find a safe place to send those who can't fight… They'll be _killed_ otherwise…"

"Why is it even here? What does it want with us?"

"How does it keep creating those creatures to hunt us down?"

"I still say we should avoid fighting it at all if we can. Though… I guess that isn't exactly possible at this point, is it?"

"We need some sort of a plan… But even the best plan probably won't help us much."

Closing his eyes, Sonic fought to tune the numerous voices out so that he could think. Once again, everyone had gathered at his and Amy's home (if only because it was the largest of the group's collective homes on Mobius and could actually _fit_ everyone). Emi (who was a professional Extreme Gear racer) and Grey (who lived a quiet life as a scholar in the far northern mountains) stood together near the door, close as they ever were. Neither had any children or romantic interests, so it was just them standing there. Though… it was suspected that Grey was pining after his childhood friend Lyrika (whom he called "Lyrik"). The thought normally would have been enough to make Sonic smirk with amusement.

Near to them, Marthal leaned against a wall, expression serious. His daughter Natallie and her infant daughter Willow stood beside him. Several feet away stood Shadow and Lia, each armed to the teeth as usual. Standing with them was Lia's _not_ -boyfriend Shen, a rare black hedgehog just like them (minus the red and white that they sported, of course). Lia and Shen had been friends since their early teen years, and it showed in the way they quietly interacted while listening to the explanation of what this latest threat was.

A couple feet from them was a couch, where Amy was seated with Wave. The swallow was alone aside from the friends all around her, as she was single as ever and seemingly content with that. She had also long since started aging like a Hexan due to having finally unlocked her magic with her father's help, meaning that she (like Jet) looked not a day older than she had since the Nocturnian War had ended all those years ago. Her parents and younger brother weren't here right now, likely because there was a very good chance that they didn't even know yet what had been going on recently.

Seated on Wave's other side was Tails (also single, of course), who was holding a baby girl named Luna whom he had taken in as a foster child mere months ago. She wasn't an orphan like Tails was, but her parents had been deemed unfit to raise her, so he had taken the tiny fox kit in. His long-since adopted son Alex sat in a chair next to that side of the couch.

Not too far from him, Sen sat in an armchair with his young (as in toddler-aged) children North and Cage in his lap. His wife, Faith (who was a pure white hedgehog, a truly rare thing indeed), sat on the armrest at his side. They were expecting a third child soon, a girl they planned to name Rin. This child, like her siblings, was almost certainly destined to be born with copious amounts of Light.

Sarai was seated on the second couch with her twin sons, who were eight. They were Ralin (who was around fourteen minutes older than his brother) and Korin. While Ralin inherited a rather healthy balance of Light and Darkness, Korin inherited enough Darkness that his temper (when it surfaced)... was quite dangerous. Still, they were good kids, and they clung to their mother nervously in the absence of their father, a mysterious man Sarai never spoke about and who had left before the boys had even been born.

Fairly close to Sarai sat Kimmy (who had been going by "Kym" since about age thirteen) on the floor. Beside her were her younger siblings, Kohaku (who had no interest in romance and had four years ago adopted a then-infant dark purple cat named Raven) and Ava (who, likewise, was perfectly happy to have no romantic prospects and, in her case, no children either). Their parents sat in chairs not even a foot away.

Across the room, Locke leaned against a wall beside Knuckles (who stood there with his arms tensely crossed) and Rouge (who managed to look as relaxed as ever in spite of the circumstances). Jason was seated in a chair borrowed from the kitchen beside his wife Krystal (who had also taken up a chair). Their two biological daughters Meg and Em (both echidna's in appearance) played quietly with a couple wooden figurines of horses and birds by their feet. Their adopted daughter (who was a mysterious echidna girl found on Angel Island one day by Krystal and Em), Julie-su, was playing with them. Just a couple feet away, Kayde was seated on the floor beside his wife Anika (another mysterious echidna whom had been found on Angel Island, and with no recollection of her past) and their daughter Tara (also an echidna, of course).

On a different side of the room, Ten stood fairly near to his adoptive father alongside his wife Meika. Hannah (who was in line to take over the throne from Jet someday) sat quietly in a chair near her sister who, unlike her, was married and had a child (not that Hannah was planning not to marry someday, though). Suri's husband had died just a couple of years after the birth of their daughter Akaila, but the youngest of the king's children still managed a bright smile each and every day, somehow. Today was no different.

Not five feet from the siblings and their family stood Arthr and Tammy, who had no children and didn't plan on having any. In a padded chair close by to them sat Storm, who had been living in isolation on a tropical island near the jungle continent of Tralius since his long-time girlfriend Keilin's death. As Albatrosses aged much faster than most other Babylonian species, he was quite elderly already and required a staff to help him balance as he walked. He claimed to be of no use in combat anymore, but had every right to be here to learn what was going on regardless.

In a corner of the room far separate from everyone else was Espio, who of course still bore the same old scars whatnot as he had since the end of the war. His left eye remained sealed shut by that vertical scar, and his left arm remained paralyzed and forever in a sling. He also remained as mysteriously emotionless as ever, and yet… even he seemed somehow affected by the trio of losses he had suffered during this era of peace. Vector, his longtime friend, Charmy, the boy he had helped take care of for so long, Cream, the girl he had raised from the death of her mother right up until her adulthood… And now, he had taken in Cream and Charmy's children. It wasn't that Meredith, West, and Sunny were children with no homes of their own or anything, but they were so lost without their mother that they just… needed someone to be there for them and _with_ them. So, for now, they were staying at his quiet home in the village he had been born and raised in and now lived in again (namely, Hyale).

They had come here, all of them, to discuss a plan of action, to determine what their options were when regarding this newfound threat. So, while Jet set about answering the often-voiced question of what this threat even was, exactly, Sonic did his best to formulate _some_ sort of a plan... _any_ sort of a plan, no matter how tentative or simple. They just needed _something_.

Right now, he was coming up woefully empty.

In the end, he supposed it didn't matter much, anyway. Whether he meant to or not, Jet wound up creating a plan for him in the process of answering a question from Tails. "How do we kill something like _that_ , sensei?" the fox asked, eyes uncharacteristically serious and lacking in their usual bright humor.

Jet seemed… tense. Was he tense? Sonic had really no idea. It was so hard to read the hawk sometimes. It had been easier when Sonic had been younger, though, yet another reason to lament the fact that he was aging. "You don't," Jet muttered. " _If_ you engage Malevolence at all, you put all your energy into driving it back to where it came from and hope to whatever higher powers you believe in that it _stays_ there for a while."

Amy's eyes clouded over with worry. "There's no way to kill it?" she reiterated softly.

"No," Jet answered shortly. Then, apparently sensing the next question on her tongue, he added, "And that stands true for the Immortals, too." Though Jet had grown quite strong as an Immortal over the years due to his intensive training, Sonic suspected Jet was more referring to the other three Immortals. They were, after all, far older and more powerful than the hawk at this point.

" _Why_ can't it be killed?" Kym asked, voicing a question that many had on their minds.

Emerald green feathered shoulders lifted in a vague shrug. "Supposedly it, being the most powerful creature of evil Darkness there is, is an integral force within existence itself… preventing Light from ever gaining too much power and, thus, maintaining balance."

Looks were traded all around. "And so many of us being born here with a lot of Light… is probably upsetting that, isn't it?" Silver asked slowly.

"No," Jet answered just as slowly. "But the amount of Light gathered on this one planet is… a sort of beacon, I suppose, that is calling out to the beast. It hungers for Light to drain and that 'food', so to speak, is _here_."

"And so it came," Natallie murmured, eyes downcast. Jet nodded once.

"But Father," Hannah called quietly, tugging his attention that direction, "if even your kin cannot kill it, then how can we hope to drive it away?" It took Sonic a second to remember that, in this case, the word _kin_ wasn't referring to Jet's actual family. Instead, it was referring to the other Immortals who, in a way, were a family all their own... as they always had been, and always would be.

"My guess would be that we'll just have to be _dammed_ lucky," Knuckles cut in, posture tighter than ever due to his concern… which was, as always, concealed as much as possible under a veil of anger.

Sonic ground his teeth together. "We can't rely on _luck_ ," he countered more sharply than he had intended. "Look what happened the _last_ time we did that! Do _you_ want to try to count the number of people the Nocturnians killed back then?" Violet eyes shifted to him, but no argument came. Sonic took in a breath and let it out slowly in an effort to calm himself. Getting irritated himself wouldn't help anyone. "Look… we came here to create a plan, and Jet's given us what looks like the best one we'll ever get. If it really isn't possible to kill it, then driving it away will have to be our goal."

"How?" Emi asked, frowning deeply. "And where _did_ it come from to begin with?"

All eyes shifted back to Jet. The hawk hated talking so much as everyone well knew by this point, but as a king he was very used to having to do it (and to addressing crowds about serious subjects and the like) regardless. So, he spoke up without any sign of complain, internal or otherwise. "I don't know _how_ it can be done," he admitted, a trace of irritation over that truth betraying itself in his pure blue eyes, "but I do know the name of the realm it comes from. It's known as the Twilight Cage. That realm is where the creature was once driven to and sealed away by a powerful Immortal nearly a dozen generations ago." Meaning far longer ago than anyone here aside from possibly Jet could understand, Sonic suspected. "It's long since broken that seal, obviously, but it continues to reside there of its own accord regardless. It's... essentially the beast's home."

As the Immortal realm-shifting ability was well known to everyone here by now, no one questioned what Wave was talking about when she asked, "Do you know how to get there?"

"My kin do," Jet said simply with another tiny shrug.

 _So that's a "no", then._ Sonic pursed his lips together. _What to do, then…?_ His eyes slowly closed, his expression troubled. "...Everyone who can't fight or who has kids _shouldn't_ fight," he said eventually, calling everyone's attention to himself.

"I agree," Amy sighed. "In the event that things go terribly… one of the _last_ things we would want is for any of the kids to be without their parents."

After much murmuring, the parents wound up agreeing to this arrangement overall. Though, a few here and there (such as Sarai and Jason) only agreed reluctantly and _only_ for the sakes of their children. There was no doubt in Sonic's mind that most of them would have readily fought otherwise. And, of course, no one else voiced any desire to be left out, either, despite the stakes. _So, this leaves… Myself, Amy, Emi, Grey, Silver, Blaze, Kym, Ava, Locke, Knuckles, Rouge, Marthal, Espio, Meredith, West, Sunny, Shadow, Lia, Shen, Ten, Meika, Hannah, Jet, Wave, maybe Han or Mara if either of them are willing._ He didn't want to ask Alec for help, since he was focusing on higher education right now and wasn't interested in being a fighter anyway.

He kept thinking. _And… Tails would normally fight with us if he could, but he has Luna now… so he won't be able to. Alex will, though, knowing him, and so will Arthr and Tammy._ Sonic frowned to himself. _That's still a lot of people, but… numbers alone won't be enough. Not against a foe like this. Jet's not said much about it, but if everything he's implied about his power is true… then our chances of losing are far higher than our chances of winning._ Growing more and more tense, Sonic felt himself gain an even deeper frown.

 _This may be a war we're not destined to win._

 **~悪意~**

 **2,498 words this time. So, yay, starting this story off an a dark and ominous note! XD I promise, the next story's beginning won't be so dark and dreary... overall. Lol, anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 12:40 p.m.) 09-29-18.**


	3. Bloody Roses

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this horrible time... especially for the one who so unintentionally proves that he cares far more than he normally likes to let on.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Haha, yeah, sorry. XD Yeah... it's really sad... ;_;**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Loss"**

 **~悪意~**

With an alarmed and wholly unintentional hiss, Blaze ducked underneath an attack, narrowly avoiding a particularly large attack that sailed through the air where her head had previously been. She was in a once beautiful and seemingly untouched bit of wilderness (it was sort of a mix of a meadow and a small woodland of sorts) with a small group of people. The larger group as a whole had been split up into a few different groups for now, and for a very simple purpose. They were hoping to divide the attention of Malevolence and its creatures, or maybe even fully divert it to them so that those who were trying to get away and hide could do so without being attacked. So far it seemed to be working, but she was reluctant to think of their mission as a success so soon. After all, there was no telling what might happen and when. She could only _hope_ that things went well.

Blaze dodged a fierce swipe of some ungodly claws. She was hard-pressed to describe what these _things_ (Jet referred to them as "spawns of Malevolence") looked like, beyond the fact that they were comprised of black and blood-red energy and honestly reminded her of… of _demons_. Who knew, maybe they were demons in their own right, but they certainly weren't the sort of demons _she_ was familiar with. Still, they reminded her quite strongly of the demons that she, Silver, and some others had witnessed Kaden so hatefully fighting on the day he had first unleashed his magic during the Nocturnian War. _They are certainly just as vicious and bloodthirsty… if not more so._

Dodging yet another attack, Blaze whipped out her katana and cut through the beast that had been attacking her. It did nothing to kill the beast (because, of course, her sword was normal in every sense of the word and there was nothing _normal_ about these monsters), but it at the very least bought her a few seconds to put some distance between it and herself. She did just that the second she was able to, but didn't dare put her back to the thing for even a second as its energy-based body rapidly mended itself. Her eyes unintentionally locked on the beast's face… and her heart sank.

The _malice_ in its eyes…

It was worse than any mere _demon_ that she had ever seen. Granted, she hadn't actually seen very many in her life, but even so… _I think I would have preferred actual demons as opposed to these_. Oddly enough, however, no one had seen hide nor hair of their demonic foes aside from that brief time when they had aided in wreaking some havoc on Mobius all those years ago. After Kaden had wiped out that one horde, the lot of them had gone very curiously quiet. And that was how they had stayed for all these years… Even now, now that the infamous "Night" was active again, they _still_ weren't showing their horrific faces. To say that it was concerning was… was… God, she didn't even know anymore. She just knew that it was _bad_ to say the _very_ least.

Her concern, however, seemed to pale in comparison to (of _all_ people's) Jet's. The couple of times it had been brought up in the last few days, all that he had said was something about this… "Amnikaribah" creature. He'd also made equally vague mentions about a "God of Demons", whom he swore up and down was also awake and active just as Malevolence was. The only thing he didn't seem to know was what this supposed god and its (his? her?) hordes of demons were _doing_ … or, perhaps, more concerningly… _waiting_ to do.

The time for pondering about demons was over, for the creature had recovered and was lunging for her again. In her mind's eye, Blaze saw flashes of how her former sensei would have fought back against this foe. _Using copious amounts of speed, fire, and violent sword attacks, no doubt._ The thought of Kaden made her almost smile for a second as she rushed at her enemy with her weapon poised to strike. However… her attack faltered slightly when she suddenly had a random and potentially irrelevant thought. _Kaden died without ever reclaiming or seeking to reclaim at any point in his life the throne his parents held and ruled most of the world with… The world is still wondering about that very throne to this day, and none of his children have taken any steps to claim it either. What will be done about it…? Something must be done. It cannot be ignored forever. The different cities and continents are so divided in their small leaders, their laws, their cultures… Our world needs unity._

A near-miss snapped Blaze's attention back to the here and now. Claws swiped by her cheek close enough to scrape along her fur but _just_ avoid the skin beneath. Knowing now was not the time to be thinking about such irrelevant (or at least currently irrelevant) matters, she focused on the fight once more. Then, recalling that her fire was a special kind specifically _designed_ to fight against Darkness and those borne of it (it being a sort of Light-based flame and whatnot), she called forth said fire and unleashed it across the battlefield in a lethal torrent. It could not hurt anything she did not allow it to hurt… and soon the spawn her group had been fighting were nothing more than a cluster of bad memories.

And yet, it seemed nothing in life was ever destined to be that easy anymore. That was a truth she rapidly had to accept as more monsters manifested seemingly out of thin air, each fully ready, willing, and able to fight and to wound and to _kill_. And with their appearance, things rapidly started to go sour. It took not ten minutes for everyone in her group (which was comprised of herself, her husband, Locke - who was really getting up there in age by this point and possibly shouldn't have been fighting -, Knuckles, and Rouge) to begin sporting serious wounds.

Locke was slashed deeply down from one shoulder to the opposite hip with four lethal claws. Knuckles was blasted with dark energy and sent hurtling through the small woodland space, causing sharp chunks of wood to stab him and various places. Rouge was also blasted, though in her case the attack caused severe burns and nearly rendered her right leg (which took the brunt of the attack) utterly useless. Silver suffered a bit of both, having somehow gotten himself blasted _and_ cut, and soon Blaze met the same fate. She continued to attack relentlessly with her fire, however, because she felt it was the only chance they had… and eventually it seemed to drive the creatures away. At least, for now.

They had won, but perhaps only just.

Too many more injuries like those, and someone _would_ have died.

Panting, Blaze knelt in the grass where she had been standing and looked around. She took stock of everyone's injuries again, watching as Locke gritted his teeth and walked over to Knuckles and Rouge to help them up. Silver, visibly wincing, descended from the sky that he so often chose to fight in and sat down while putting pressure on his open wounds. Blaze's heart sank for the second time as a thought struck her. _These are among the strongest people on the whole of our planet, who were fighting mere creations of our actual foe and not Malevolence itself… and yet, for all their strength and skill, they are wounded this badly…_ A new worry was suddenly haunting Blaze's mind, one she couldn't shake. _If even a small fight such as this can have such terrible results, then how safe are we? How safe is anyone on this world?_

 _In the end, Blaze was forced to remind herself_ of an unexpected lesson Kaden had given her many years ago, something he had had told her outright when she had once voice some particularly negative thoughts on a subject she no longer specifically recalled. _"I know it may mean little coming from someone like myself, Blaze… but do try to remember it regardless. It is better to hold onto hope instead of harboring nothing but doubts in your heart."_

Closing her eyes, she fought to hold back sudden tears and stood up. Kaden was right in the end, after all… and she had companions to check on.

 **~悪意~**

In the quiet of the morning, Shadow was on the move with his group. Said group consisted of himself, Marthal, Lia, Shen, Espio, Meredith, West, and Sunny, all of whom were walking in a tight group through the fields they had found themselves in on this day. They had just ended yet another in a long series of fights that had spanned throughout the previous night, and everyone was far too tired to travel quickly anymore. Still, they had a mission to keep the enemy attention on their group (as did all the other groups), and they had to see that mission through to the end. Nearly everyone who was going off to hide was hidden already, meaning they had to just hold out for maybe another day… and then they could all regroup and focus on the larger goal at hand. They just had to hold out… a little while longer.

Suddenly, just as they were rounding a bend around a particularly large boulder that was situated all by its lonesome in the middle of the grass, a portal opened. Shadow tensed instantly, for he _knew_ what the portal was and who had opened it. _Soren…_ This was an event he had been expecting and yet also dreading for some time now. A couple or more times each and every month, his son from another timeline would make a visit to this timeline for a few hours or more before returning to his own home. He was no doubt entirely unaware of the dangers this world was now facing, for he hadn't been here since shortly before the initial attacks, and Shadow _dreaded_ the idea of having _either_ of his children involved in this goddamn mess. It was bad enough that Lia refused to be sidelined… The fact that Soren would certainly do the exact same thing would only make this even harder to bear.

And it wasn't like he could _stop_ either of them. They were adults now, after all, fully capable of making their own decisions and following through with them. He just… couldn't help but sort of hate that fact during times like these. He wanted nothing more than to keep them both out of this, his protectiveness toward them running so deeply that it was nearly enough to overpower his logic regarding this whole situation. God, this was _not_ what he'd signed up for when he had so unexpectedly become a parent so many years ago. ...Not that he'd ever exactly _intended_ for that to happen, but still…

Just as Soren stepped out of the portal and Lia approached it to greet her brother, the universe just had to send more danger their way. A surprisingly massive spawn of Malevolence materialized not even thirty feet from their group, its body alive with enough raw power that it was nearly palpable. Though he normally tried not to think about it, he couldn't help but reflect that the creature that had killed him a number of years back had looked just like this one, albeit this one was much larger. Which, of course, only lent credence to his budding belief that Malevolence had orchestrated his murder… for _some_ reason.

But that didn't matter right now. The point was that this was _not_ like the relative small-fry that they had been fighting up until this point, and it was already rushing at them. The fight was on mere seconds later (because _damn_ this thing was fast), but for reasons Shadow couldn't quite determine the beast seemed to utterly ignore most of the group, as though they didn't even exist as far as it was concerned. No, _they_ were not its focus. Its apparent focus was _Espio_ , and it struck at him again and again and again and _again_ with so much force and ferocity and speed that the ground shook and the chameleon, for all his own speed and agility and ninja skill mastery, almost couldn't escape being pummeled into the ground… and probably worse.

There was nothing to do but try to fight the beast regardless, so that was what he immediately set upon doing. The others seemed to follow his lead, and soon they were all attacking. However, this thing seemed to regard them all as mere pests and annoyances than actual threats and wouldn't actually _pay attention_ to them. Normally that would have been something they could take advantage of to make a kill, but it was way too strong to be killed that quickly and easily and, honestly, they didn't have the time to try to outright kill it this way. If this dragged out too much longer, even Espio was going to get caught and mauled, maybe even slaughtered. They had to do _something_ , Shadow just didn't know what-

The monster suddenly let out a pained grunt. Snapping his head to the side, Shadow caught sight of a small gunshot wound on their enemy's shoulder. The wound rapidly knitted itself together using the raw energies that comprised this thing's body, but Shadow had just enough time to assess the wound and determine how it had happened. Lia had shot the creature, but with no ordinary bullet. She had infused it with magic, the very same magic that Kaden had possessed and which they now knew Sonic, Lia, Emi, Grey, Silver, Kohaku, and Ava had all inherited (though only Emi and Grey had any real proficiency with the power at this point). That magic-infused bullet had caused a real wound and real _pain_ for this creature… and Shadow _knew_ that they had to make use of that.

Any plans to do so, however, had to be put on hold the instant that thought struck him. The creature, now apparently _quite_ pissed off, made an unexpected motion of one of its huge clawed feet and sent Espio flying away, then turned and released a wave of energy that knocked back everyone else as well. Now no longer actively under attack, the creature turned its huge head and opened its maw. A ball of energy formed between massive sword-like teeth just as Shadow pushed himself up in the grass. Not even a second later, it lashed out at the one who had wounded it… and Shadow realized with horror as he leapt to his feet that Lia had no time to dodge. And he had no time to get to her.

 _He_ was the only person close enough to do anything.

Ever the protective older brother, Soren lunged for his sister and shoved her aside with a surprising amount of force. Lia hit the ground and skidded several feet away, spared any damage from the attack that had been aimed at her. Soren, however… Soren… He had no chance. He had no chance in _hell_ , and all Shadow and Lia and anyone else could do was watch in _horror_ as the boy (no, young man) took on the full brunt of the attack… and was all but disintegrated, leaving nothing but vague bits of ash behind to be carried away by the breeze.

Existence and reality together narrowed to a pinpoint of awareness, and Shadow was only _very_ vaguely aware of sinking down to his knees. There was such a loud roaring in his ears that he couldn't hear anything aside from it and his pounding heart. His eyes watched as Lia remained frozen on the ground, eyes wide with shock, and Cream's children huddled together in horror and Shen stood still in mute shock and Marthal and Espio took advantage of the beast's distraction and together rushed it in order to kill it before it could take anymore lives… but none of it really registered. He didn't pay attention to any of it because he _couldn't_ because all he could see and hear and think was that horrible moment they had all just lived through and the internal agony he was now facing as a result of it.

Soren was dead.

First his parents, and now his son.

Gone.

All of them.

Shadow didn't know how much more death he could _take_ …

 **~悪意~**

Sonic was with Amy, Emi, Grey, Ava, Arthr, and Tammy (the latter two whom Jet had called here to help as much as possible). The group was resting in the shade of some trees in the middle of the day following some particularly hard fights. He was taking the time right now to check on everyone who was going to hide and where they were going. Most were going to Angel Island, but some were not. Sarai was instead taking her sons with her to hide in Kaden's secret underground library, as his magic was somehow _still_ protecting the place (thus making it one of _the_ single most heavily defended locations in the entire world). Sen and his family, meanwhile, were traveling to Satsuno and Seiko's castle (the same one Kaden and some others had sheltered in during the Nocturnian War) to find protection behind its barriers along with Natallie and her daughter, Kohaku and his adopted daughter, and Kayde and his family.

Storm, meanwhile… well, the stubborn old albatross had chosen to simply return home. But, given how totally isolated that home was, who knew. Maybe he would be safe there regardless. Or, at least… that was what Sonic tried to convince himself. It was hard to realistically hope that _anyone_ was safe to any degree anymore, all things considered. All he could do, all _anyone_ could do, was try to cling to hope nevertheless. That was just… far easier said than done.

A message from Shen unexpectedly made Sonic's communicator vibrate. Surprised, he looked down at the device and turned opened the message. Seconds later, his eyes widened and his heart dropped into his stomach, drawing Amy's attention to him immediately. "What is it, Sonic?" she asked him quietly.

Swallowing thickly, it was all that Sonic could do to force his words out. "Soren… Ames, Soren just…" He trailed off, to numb to speak for a moment until she verbally nudged him for an answer.

"...Sonic?"

Emerald eyes wide still, Sonic looked up at her. "He's… dead, Ames. Soren… just died."

 **~悪意~**

 **3,173 words this time. FOR THE RECORD, I'M SORRY, GUYS. Posted (at about 8:00 p.m.) 09-30-18.**


	4. Madness

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this dark time... especially for the one who hungers for more.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Nope... nope, it did not... It's sad. :(**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Madness"**

 **~悪意~**

Storm grunted softly, using his staff to push himself to his feet after moving to the edge of his small bed within his tiny one-room hut. Using that staff to keep himself upright and to walk, he pushed aside the thatched curtain that he used in place of a door and stepped outside. It was a warm, clear night on the tiny isolated jungle island he called home, and as ever his eyes were initially drawn to the volcano whose ridge dominated the skyline in this area. Pulling his gaze from that, however, he found something far more interesting to look at… and far more concerning. It was a dark man, the one whose sudden appearance on this island had drawn Storm outside on this night.

The man grinned rather sick and disturbing grin. "Ah, so you _are_ alive, then. I had begun to wonder if you had wasted away in your sleep."

Slowly, Storm's eyes narrowed. He had never been a patient man, was even less so now that he was tired and - of course - old. This game, a game designed to waste time and distract, was not a game he was going to be baited into. "The hell do you want?"

"Hm, crotchety, are we?" The man murmured in apparent amusement. "Tsk, tsk. You should treat your elders with more respect… something you should know well by this point, considering."

In all honesty, Storm might have been inclined to growl if he had been capable of it. But, he could not, so he just gritted his teeth. "Piss off."

This evoked a laugh that was frankly rather creepy from his mysterious visitor. "You are an amusing bird… And yet, you are so serious as to be boring much of the time. Just like that friend of yours… the _king_."

Realization dawned as sure as the moon hung in the sky. _This is the bastard Jet used to mention… Kethro the Dark._

Kethro spoke again before Storm could. "However, that is not why I am here. You see… I bring some dark tidings for you and all you call friends. As you know, _wicked_ times have descended upon this world… Malevolence has come, and with it comes a malice and a madness that you and your ilk will _not_ overcome. Its will to change this sorry existence into something… _darker_ … is more powerful than any of you will live long enough to comprehend." Suddenly, he erupted into a fit of laughter. "And even if you did manage to understand, it would matter little in the end. You will all be dead soon enough, either way. We intend to _ensure_ that."

That was more than enough. Storm had seen and heard enough. Raising his staff, he called forth the powerful and borderline magical energy contained within it, a power that (like the staff itself) was far older than he. A ball of white light gathered within the orb embedded in the wood at the top of the staff, the burst out in a concentrated beam. The attack struck an instant later, forcing the illusion of the man to vanish… and the already exhausted Babylonian turned away.

With nothing left to do, he simply returned to his hut.

 **~悪意~**

Everyone who couldn't fight was finally hidden, so all the fighters regrouped as soon as possible near Green Forest. It was readily apparent to Sonic that his niece and brother (despite their efforts to hide it, of course) were still very much in shock after the death of Soren… and he could hardly blame them for it. He himself was extremely pained by the news, and he had been nowhere near as close to the young man as Shadow and Lia had been. He could readily imagine the depths of their pain, though he didn't want to, and it was because of their pain that he decided to leave them alone.

In a bid to get information, he turned instead to Espio. If anyone would be able to remain unaffected by this emotional experience, it would be him. He was just about the only one Sonic could ask for information about what in the hell had happened, for only Espio would not be wounded (or further so) by the reminder. So Sonic turned to him, started to ask for that very information, only to be cut off by yet another surprise attack.

Creatures swarmed the group, furious and bloodthirsty, but for once _they_ were the ones outnumbered and outmatched. Blasts of fire, aura energy, magic, psychic energy, and psychokinetic energy laid waste to the temporary battlefield, slaying most of the creatures and driving off the rest. No more injuries were sustained, but the thought of the _possibility_ for injury reminded Sonic of what else had occurred earlier. Turning, he caught his wife's eye. "Amy…"

She glanced elsewhere and nodded. "Yeah… I know. I'm on it." With no further dialogue between the two, she walked over to Silver, Blaze, Knuckles, Rouge, and Locke to heal them of their wounds. The wounds were serious, but Sonic was just grateful that they hadn't been fatal.

Suddenly, Cream's only son West spoke up. "Why do these things keep attacking us _so_ often?" he demanded, fear coloring his voice. It only made sense for him to feel fear. After all, he and many of his peers within this group had _never_ experienced hardship and war like this before… had never even in their worst nightmares expected it to happen.

Many looks were traded with no answers forthcoming, but eventually Jet responded. "Simple," he murmured with a sort of sigh. "As I said before, Malevolence is here because it desires to feed on Light. It is _fueled_ by that endless hunger, and needless to say that ' _food_ ' and those who contain it within them… are _here_."

 **~悪意~**

Barely restraining a sound of desperation, Tails sprinted through his isolated woodland home, grabbing Luna from her playpen on his way through as everything violently caved in around them. Powerful and malevolent energies crushed anything they could reach but he kept running, lab coat billowing behind him. The whole building was badly destabilized and damaged, energies were crackling and raging around them with so much destructive force that the ground was buckling and jumping, the house was starting to outright collapse...

Upon realizing that nothing could save them, Tails shed a wave of tears and dropped to his knees. Knowing without even having to look anymore that a minor and localized cataclysm was coming, he bent of Luna's tiny, trembling body to shield it with his own. Her terrified shrieks and wails filled his ears as the crushing energies exploded around and descended upon them. And then everything went black.

 **~悪意~**

 **1,136 words this time. Hope y'all managed to enjoy despite all the sadness and shiz. Posted (at about 7:00 p.m.) 10-01-18.**


	5. Darkest Part

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this series of small discussions... especially for the one who is affected.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Your review to Chapter 2: Well... I mean... that's one way to look at Malevolence, I guess. XD**

 **Your review to Chapter 3: "Small man"? AND I KNOOOW.**

 **Your review to Chapter 4: BUT HE CAN'T SHOW UP UNTIL GUARDIAN OR NEVERDARK AND YOU KNOW IT, SO EHHHH. HE'D BE A HUGE HELP, THOUGH. Also, "shooketh"?**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! In theory... yes. But we'll see. :(**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Strength"**

 **~悪意~**

Sonic stared at Tails's image on his communicator screen. They two were in the middle of a video call, and his stomach was so tied up in knots that he thought he might be sick. "You're okay?" he demanded softly, throat tight.

In spite of normally not being a heavily emotional person, the fox's eyes were full of tears as he choked out, "I thought I was going to _die_. For real this time. Luna, too." Swallowing thickly, Tails swiped at his eyes and then let out a humorless laugh. "Guess my regeneration really saved my ass… again."

Closing his eyes briefly, Sonic shook his head. "Tails, you're not listening. Are you _okay_?"

More tears… almost. "I… don't know?" Tails offered weakly, sounding distracted.

 _Not listening._ He wasn't getting anywhere with this, so Sonic turned and took the few steps needed to reach his best friend's side. Nudging the hawk's shoulder, he dragged Jet's attention away from his quiet conversation with Knuckles. Unstrapping the communicator from his wrist, Sonic quietly bid, "Talk to him."

Though he took the communicator that was passed into his hands, Jet's blank expression seemed to communicate, _Why me?_

Reading this with ease, Sonic sort of huffed. "Do you even need to ask at this point? He trusts you, dummy. And more importantly, he _listens_ to you. You might be able to calm him down." Jet answered with his own huff, but conceded the point and didn't argue further. Pleased, Sonic briefly touched the back of his friend's hand with his fingertips in a silent gesture of thanks ( _such_ a bird thing, he had been hanging around Babylonians for _way_ too many years) and walked away to resume checking on everyone else.

By now, everyone who had previously been wounded was fully healed and those who owned weapons had them on hand. The recent slew of attacks had everyone on edge, and the death of Soren had people _afraid_ , but for now everyone was alright. Ready. Waiting. _But for what? We don't even know how to fend off this foe… let alone how to drive it off of this world._

It stood to reason that others shared in his concerns, so it didn't surprise him much when Wave and Tammy (who unsurprisingly had grown quite close over the years) approached him. Without even so much as a 'Hey, got a second to talk?', Wave launched in with, "We had an idea, Sonic. It's nothing that will help us win this fight, but… well, it _might_."

"Now's not the time for riddles, Wave," Sonic sighed, turning to her. "And unlike _some_ people, I happen to be getting up there in age. So, _please_ , talk sense for my sake."

His somewhat moody response earned an amused smirk, but it was fleeting. The pair of inventors before him were almost nothing but serious. "As you know," Tammy started to explain, "Babylonians, alongside the Therians and da Asani, are _the_ oldest race of beings out there. They - well, _we_ \- also happen to be quite dutiful note-takers. That is to say, when we learns things, experience things, imagine things, whatever… we keep records. We archive just about everything, and virtually always have. We have records of people and events and more spanning back to mere _eons_ after the birth of our race."

Wave added, "Tammy and I got to talking about that, and we realized that chances are there are records of Babylonian encounters with Malevolence as well."

Sonic's brow furrowed. "It's attacked your people before, too?"

The women traded looks. "Yes," Tammy answered gravely. "More than once, but I don't know specific details about why. And that's not what we intend to look for. See, our people have been attacked before… but we obviously _survived_."

Understanding dawned, giving Sonic's eyes new light. "Meaning they must have found some way to fight back," he breathed. "Some way to fend it off."

Tammy nodded eagerly. "Yes!" she replied, obviously pleased that he was on the same page as them now.

"We'll need to go to Babylon, obviously," Wave continued. "As king, Jet's got unfettered access to all Babylonian records, even the ones that are sealed off from the general public usually. Meaning even ones on topics such as this. With his permission, we'll just be looking through those records in his stead."

 _Permission he will no doubt grant… if only because he trusts them._ Sonic nodded. "Go ahead and ask him, then. And thanks for letting me know where you'll be going."

"No problem. We couldn't have you worrying yourself sick - _again_." Wave's comment was punctuated by a surprisingly gentle and understanding look, a look that Sonic both literally and figuratively shrugged off. The pair walked off to speak with Jet.

Turning his attention back to other matters, Sonic walked over to his brother and niece. Shadow was seated with his back against a rather old tree and, in a rather rare open display of affection, he held his adult daughter close with both of his arms. She leaned heavily against him, her cheek pressed hard into his shoulder and her long hair spilling into her face.

Strong though she was, she had obviously been crying.

Strong though _he_ was, his ears were low… and his gaze unfocused.

Most of the group was gathered around the silently grieving pair, equally silent and yet doing their best to lend their unyielding support anyhow. Sonic knelt down in front of the much darker-colored hedgehogs. "How are you holding up?" he asked each of them together, voice low so as to not startle.

Crimson eyes slid briefly Sonic's way, but Sonic had a sneaking suspicion that Shadow hadn't actually heard him, let alone seen him. Lia, however, stirred from her ruminations enough to wipe at her cheeks and brush aside her hair with one hand. "How well are we _meant_ to be doing?" she asked softly and with no actual heat to her words in spite of the temper she had inherited from her father.

The question earned a sigh. "There are better people to ask. I'm not the best at grieving. ...Healthily."

Somehow, the corner of her lips twitched into a weak smile… albeit for just a second. "As I recall," she agreed.

Emerald eyes shifted to Shadow again, but the other hedgehog was looking away again. He was uncharacteristically detached… and unresponsive. _He'll have no further time to gather his thoughts about all of this later. Best to leave him alone while I can._ Sonic returned his focus to Lia. "What happened?" he asked her as gently as he could. Then he hastily clarified, "To the creature, I mean. Not… ...Anyway, I heard you wounded it. How?"

Lia's lips pursed together at being forced to recall the fight that had let to her alternate timeline brother's death, but she divulged her knowledge of the situation readily. "Father often forms bullets of pure Darkness in his guns, as opposed to using and relying on simple and _normal_ ones. He _designed_ our guns specifically to be able to fire energy bullets without sustaining damage."

Slowly, Sonic frowned. _Darkness can't harm something like Malevolence, or its creations. Light can, but… Shadow and Lia have no blood ties to mom. They have no Light._

Most likely already aware of his growing confusion, Lia continued. "Nothing else was working as far as I could tell, so I tried making bullets of magic instead. You know… _Papa's_ magic. The kind meant to interact with spirits… and slay demons."

This sent Sonic's mind reeling, because he knew she was _right_. Kaden's magic, the magic of the Mobian royal family, the impossibly ancient _Magic of Lost Souls_ , was _indeed_ used for the purposes she had claimed. And this meant… _There are more people who can be of good use here then we previously thought._ Closing his eyes, Sonic quickly thought over everyone's powers and abilities. Jet's basic powers had changed little over the years, aside from growing stronger and stronger with each passing season. But this did _not_ include his Immortal abilities… of which Sonic knew few.

Wave had truly begun to embrace her dual heritage, making huge strides in her training in both the areas of aura powers and Hexan magic. Her only neglected ability was her psychic one, but she had never seemed keen on utilizing that one regardless.

Amy's, Knuckles's, and Rouge's remained largely the same as they had ever been, though Amy's healing powers had grown exponentially since the Nocturnian War, and Knuckles had grown far more proficient in the use of his fire under his father's calm tutelage. And Rouge had gotten better at turning invisible, a skill she had barely used at all until recent years (though he _had_ seen it before, back during Ivo's reign of terror).

Locke… god, the man was a real force of nature, even more so now than he ever had been before. Sonic swore that the man's fire and physical strength did nothing but rise in power despite his equally rising age. And then there was the matter of Espio, who mostly had mastery of ninja skills and the like on his side, and yet… Sonic had always sensed that there was something more. Something that was just… _there_ , somewhere, under the surface. But what?

Then there was Blaze and her family… a group that was _not_ to be underestimated. Blaze's fire, which she had painstakingly mastered even in her sensei's long absence, was born of enough Light to make it far from an ordinary flame. It only burned what she allowed it to burn, was capable of eradicating Darkness and (assuming they weren't too powerful) those _born_ of it. It was a very useful power, one that her eldest child had inherited alongside the equally powerful but currently nowhere near as useful Shadows.

Silver had no special Light-based fire, of course, but he had his own gifts. For one thing, it went without saying that he and Cream were more or less tied for the place as " _most powerful mental fighter in the group_ ". Being that it was the power he had had the longest, it was truly powerful… but useless against his threat. He _did_ have fire, though, fire that was specifically _blue Dragonfire_ that he had inherited directly from Sonic and, thus, Kaden. That fire was blue because it was fused with trace amounts of Kaden's magic… meaning that fire could very well be useful. And, even better, Silver had access to that magic directly as well, on top of having ready access now to his Light. Meaning he was poised to be by far one of their best fighters against this threat.

But he wasn't the only one. There was Ava as well. She, like Kohaku, had inherited _all_ of their father's powers. And, while Kohaku was sidelined in order to defend the child in his care, Ava had no such obligation. _Together with her father, they may very well make an unstoppable force… even against you, Malevolence._

Sonic's mind shifted to the only other people left in the group. Marthal's powers and abilities remained unchanged from what he understood, though he was certainly stronger than he had been before. The same could be said for Tammy and Arthr as well, though their powers were limited to aura abilities (far from a limitation, of course, but even so). But then there were Alex, Meredith, West, and Sunny. Of those four, only Meredith possessed any notable powers and abilities, and that was Meredith. She had inherited her mother's psychic abilities… for all the good that would do here.

Last but not least, there was himself, Emi, and Grey. He firmly believed that his strength had more or less remained the same over all these years, but the strength of his children only grew as they did. Emi had inherited Darkness, Kaden's magic, Sonic's speed, their family's innate strength, Amy's psychic abilities, and Kaden's fire. Grey had inherited Light, Analia's Light-based magic, Kaden's magic, Amy's healing abilities, and, like Emi, Sonic's speed and their family's innate strength. They would both be useful in this fight for certain… but he wasn't so convinced that _he_ would be.

The sound of his name drew Sonic's attention out of his thoughts. "Sonic."

Turning and standing up, Sonic caught sight of Jet walking up to him. Jet tossed the communicator to Sonic, which the hedgehog caught just as he asked, "Did you calm him down?"

"Enough," Jet answered briskly.

"And you got some answers out of him?"

"A few." Before Sonic could get annoyed with the short responses, Jet explained, "He is safe, as is Luna. He did not say where they are hiding now, only that it is near to Angel Island. He intends to make his way to the island before tonight."

"Good. If he can get within the Master Emerald's barriers, he'll be safe." Sonic quashed the urge to add, _We hope._

Jet blinked, then changed the subject. "You desire a more concrete plan," he observed quietly.

"If we can come up with one," Sonic admitted. "Got any ideas?"

Emerald shoulders lifted in a vague shrug, but Jet said, "I intend to pay my kin a visit. In matters such as this, they will not leave us to our own devices."

 _Meaning they'll actually directly help us this time…_ Relieved, Sonic nodded. "Yeah… that's good. They've been quiet so far, so I was starting to think they were… I don't know, ignoring us or something."

Sonic expected his friend to bristle, but all Jet did was frown. In a way that subtly expressed concern, in fact. "They have been quiet," he confirmed slowly. "It is not… normal."

Realizing something was potentially amiss, Sonic pried for more information. "You're usually in contact with them at least a few times every couple of weeks, right? Because of your training?" A nod. "And… how long has it been since you last heard from them?"

Almost, Jet seemed to sigh. "Two weeks too long," he admitted.

Now Jet's concern made sense. The hawk normally kept himself just aloof enough to not allow himself much concern over those he wasn't already close with, Sonic knew. And while the other three Immortals were very much his kin, he had never been particularly _close_ with them. Their unusual lack of contact with him, despite him being their youngest kin, up until he had reached roughly age sixteen had helped ensured a lack of any real bond between them and him. And yet, he was concerned… and Sonic was protective enough to want to help allay those concerns. "Well, they _are_ Immortals… so maybe they're just busy?" he offered.

Again, Jet shrugged. Still, Sonic's offer of logic in this situation seemed to help ease his worries a degree, at least for now. "'Busy' or not, their council will be necessary if we are to survive this."

 _And by "we" you mean… everyone but you._ Sonic waved a hand vaguely in the hawk's direction. "Go on, then. Just try not to be gone for too long. We're gonna need you here, too."

Blue eyes looked away. "Time passes differently in our meeting place," he reminded in almost a mumble.

"Keep track of _our_ time as best as you can then," Sonic replied easily, "and get your butt back here as soon as possible." Jet started to turn away, most likely to say a quick farewell to his children before he left, but Sonic caught him by the shoulder. "And, hey, try not to worry too much, alright?" he murmured sincerely. Jet turned back around to look at him. "If all goes well, nothing bad's gonna happen while you're gone. And if it _does_ … I'll do my best to keep you informed."

Jet seemed to search Sonic's face for a moment. Apparently satisfied by what he found there, he inclined his head. "Fine, then," he murmured, a brusque agreement of sorts, before walking away.

Somehow managing to smile, Sonic walked away as well and found a place to sit down. He idly glanced around to check on everyone once more, glancing to his left just in time to see Jet vanish. Deciding everyone was alright for the moment, he started to drift into his thoughts with the intention of formulating a temporary plan of action, but… as was always his luck, he was quite violently interrupted.

There was a _boom_.

Followed by that boom, there was a dark but blinding flash.

In a mere instant, he was entirely robbed of all of his senses.

Things went dark.

When he came to who knew how long afterward, the first thing he was aware of (however dimly) was laying on the ground and being sore all over - as though he had been tossed around like a pinball in a field of boulders. Groaning, he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up on shaky arms. When he managed to open his eyes, his vision was blurred. Blinking repeatedly, he looked around in a bit of a daze… only to discover a brand new horror to darken this day.

Despite bearing no obvious signs of injury, young Sunny lay dead just feet from his left side. Her eyes were wide open and terrified, her body flung into the ground like a ragdoll. She was _dead_ … and to make matters even worse, he was starting to realize another truth. Namely, the fact that aside from her… he was now completely and utterly alone in an area once crowded with his friends and family.

Everyone was gone.

 **~悪意~**

 **3,018 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed, as always. Sorry this is being posted so late. Remember how I mentioned a while back that I've not been feeling well? Yeah, that came back to bite me again today. Pain... is not fun, guys. Anyway, I'll post tomorrow if all goes well. If not, then I'll post the day after. Posted (at about 9:40 p.m.) 10-02-18.**


	6. Possession

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this near-lethal encounter... especially for the one whose family is forever affected.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! You'll see soon enough, promise. And I knoooow, I'm sorry :(**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Kin"**

 **~悪意~**

In silence, Jet appeared outside of what looked to _most_ to be a set of ancient and abandoned stone ruins floating in the depths of space nowhere near any planets, asteroids, or stars. He was told that someday he would reach a point where he could begin to see this place as it _truly_ was, but… at the moment, that thought was deemed irrelevant and cast aside. He was here to speak with his kin about the Night, not to train (this time).

Though this was the place where he most typically met his kin, the place seemed eerily abandoned. True, there was a chance that Sonic was right and they were merely off attending to other matters, but usually there was at least one person here. If only because he was almost certainly not as alone as he suddenly felt, Jet went ahead and flew to a nearby empty doorway that marked his usual point of entry and then alighted silently just inside. A long and silent walk yielded no answers to the questions brewing in his mind. Was he actually here alone? If so, where had his kin gone? Surely with Malevolence being active now they wouldn't have gone too far, right? ...Right?

He had just started to berate himself for his seemingly irrational concern when he walked into the room where they usually had their meetings. In that room, he stopped. It took a second to fully register, but it was almost immediately clear what he was looking at. _Blood. What the hell…_ Pace quickening, he hurriedly followed the thick crimson trail out of the room's far door, down a hall, and into a small side room. In there, the other male Immortal lay unmoving, clearly deceased… and not reviving. Which meant he had been slain by another Immortal. But that didn't make any _sense_ , because his kin were all extremely close and none of them were violent in this way.

Racing out of the room and further down the hall, he soon found another corpse. This one was the younger of his two female kin, the one he frequently wound up butting heads with due to her abrasive personality and proclivity to make demands of people. Seeing her like this brought him no joy, no satisfaction, only an ever-building sense of dread and horror. The only other Immortal left now aside from himself was the eldest of his kin, the one who had been alive back during the days of Kathros's reign of terror and even well before then. She was the wisest of the group and, for obvious reasons, also the most powerful. However… she was also by far the most benign unless made angry over something, and even then she only resorted to combat as a last resort. To think that she could, that she _would_ do something so horrible… it didn't make sense at _all_.

Teeth gritted, Jet followed the nearly undetectable eddies of power he was now sensing to another narrow hallway. Immediately, he regretted doing so… if only because it damn-near cost him his life. _Permanently_ , this time. He only _just_ managed to throw himself down to the ground in time to avoid being ripped apart by an energy blast that had been hurled his way. Leaping back up to his feet, he quickly looked at his attacker and confirmed his worst beliefs. _It is you. Why is it you?_ A quick glance over the woman should have told him nothing aside from perhaps whether or not she was preparing another attack, and yet instead he was shocked when instead he suddenly saw with great clarity _exactly_ why this was happening.

Possessing and/or mind-controlling an Immortal was nigh-on impossible for nearly anything and any _one_ in existence. Even something as powerful as Malevolence would have had to have worked secretly and for a rather long time in order to pull it, and sure enough… its efforts had evidently been more than enough. Its crimson and black energies crackled through and around his kin, filling her eyes with an unnatural and almost demonic light. It was obvious at a glance what had happened.

Though it possibly didn't matter since he was almost certainly about to slaughtered as well, Jet couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that these killings didn't exactly make sense. After all, as soon as one Immortal died another was instantly born elsewhere to maintain the balance. That meant that killing his current kin wasn't ridding Malevolence of its most powerful enemies. At least, not permanently. Which left him to wonder, was the monster just fucking with them? It was definitely possible, he supposed.

 _Likely_ even, he decided, when his deeply possessed elder kin gathered her energies again… and used them to kill herself right in front of him. Another permanent death (for an Immortal killing themselves was still an Immortal killing an Immortal by all technicality), more bloodshed, more horror. And alongside with those things came… daunting realization. Extreme responsibility. Even greater burden. Because suddenly, _he_ was the oldest Immortal alive, and the only one left with any means of fighting for and actively defending existence. Because now, aside from the three infant Immortals who had been born on this day…

Now, he was alone.

 **~悪意~**

 **896 words this time. Eh, not my best work, but still an important chapter regardless. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 4:40 p.m.) 10-03-18.**


	7. Crimson Heart

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this conflict... especially for the lonely heroes.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep... them, too. Dark story and all... :(**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Heart"**

 **~悪意~**

Following the attack that had left poor Sunny dead, Knuckles and Rouge awoke together amidst the rubble of a building. Groaning, Knuckles sat up and looked around. It took him but a moment to recognize the city they were in. It was Surfdom City, a settlement built right by the ocean on the west coast of the supercontinent of Yueisha. It was normally a fun and laid-back area, obviously a beach goers paradise. Now, however, the city was anything _but_.

All around them, the city was in utter chaos. It was overrun by innumerable spawns of Malevolence. Fires raged, covering nearly every available surface as far as the eye could see. Buildings were constantly collapsing, being pummeled by attacks, burning down… Bodies littered the streets, far too many to count even if anyone had been so inclined. There was so much death, so much destruction, so much _horror_ , and it was only due to get worse.

Powerful and maleficent energy gathered near the city's heart.

One thing became agonizingly clear.

There was to be no escape.

Survival was not possible.

His heart sinking so low as to nearly make him sick, Knuckles turned to face his wife for perhaps the last time. There was so much exchanged between them in those silent seconds even without the use of words. In each other's gazes, they both found a newfound resolve. Yes, they were going to die. Yes, their ends were to be far from peaceful and painless. But Malevolence be _damned_ , they were _not_ going down without a fight… or at least as much of one as they could give. So, after sharing their final lingering hug of this life, the couple leapt into battle.

Everything that happened next happened so quickly that it was hard for them to register it at all. Creatures swarmed them, far too many to ever be defeated by two heroes alone. Lethal appendages slashed, teeth crushed, claws mauled. Fires raged, far too many for Knuckles alone to ever wipe away. Smoke clogged the sky, blotting out the sun. Buildings collapsed, hurling more and more debris into the air each time. Hope _died_ …

And with it, it brought down the lonely heroes.

By the time everything was said and done, the pair was dead. Knuckles lay crushed in the rubble of several buildings and covered in terrible bite wounds. His fists had for the first time not been enough to save him. Rouge lay roughly twelve feet away from him, her back awkwardly bent and her limbs dangling as she laid limply over a heaping chunk of rubble in the middle of a street. She had been brutally ripped apart, her wings reduced to nothing but bloody strips and her once white fur stained black from smoke… and crimson with _death_.

Even if someone had remained there to grieve over them and the loss of their lives, there would have been no time for it. Just after their untimely demises, the energy that had for all this time been building within the city exploded outward. The entirety of the city along with several neighboring ones were levelled, ensuring that there we no survivors… and no bodies to bury. Everything was gone.

And so were they.

 **~悪意~**

 **548 words this time. GAH! THIS KILLED ME! DX Also, I wrote this ahead of time yesterday, so... yay for early posting, at least? Posted (at about 6:40 a.m.) 10-04-18.**


	8. Black Doom

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this family feud of sorts... especially for the ones who who know where genuine power _actually_ comes from.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... it breaks my heart, too... I'M SORRY, DON'T CRY. DX**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Doom"**

 **~悪意~**

Shadow and Lia stood together in White Jungle, staring down the alien "father" that Shadow had only met once before… the ancient being that had so unwillingly lent it's DNA to Shadow's creation so many years ago. It's motives for demanding in the past that Shadow see to the end of the Nocturne Clan had never made sense to Shadow before, but as a result of this conversation he suspected he now knew. It had been some sort of a test of strength… a test to prove his _worth_ in the eyes of man-creature- _whatever_ that neither Shadow nor Lia had any desire to associate with.

It (he?) appeared here and called them _weak_ … _failures_ … _unworthy_.

The hedgehogs were in _no_ mood and this wicked alien had no right, no _right_ to imply that their strength was anything _but_. "You intend to kill us, then?" he demanded lowly, teeth clenched and bared in an instinctive display of hostility and anger.

"I _intend_ ," the alien responded slowly and dangerously, "to eliminate all traces of your _weakness_ from the bloodline. Only _perfection_ is permitted."

Lia's expression hardened further and further the more Black Doom spoke. "You would slay your own family?" she muttered darkly.

"Friend, foe, family, enemy… such titles are meaningless." Black Doom gave her a cold, emotionless look. "My kind is merciless until the end."

Her ruby eyes darkened further. "No… we are not. But we will end you, regardless."

"And what do you think vermin like you can accomplish on your own?" the alien demanded, power visibly gathering around its (his?) body.

Shadow let loose a snarl, but did not speak. Lia drew her trusty pistols and twirled them with deadly grace in her hands. "We can do enough. _You_ , however… will never leave this place _alive_."

Black Doom almost seemed to laugh at her, at _them_. "Let me show you…" he murmured, "what _true_ strength is."

"We would _love_ to see you try." Lia's guns stopped twirling abruptly, perfectly aimed and poised to fire. "Do your worst, you bastard…"

This incendiary remark kickstarted the inevitable brawl. It all happened so fast that Lia's mind was only able to adequately process bits and pieces of it in the heat of the moment. Energy blasts ripping through the area. Gunshots shattered the usual relative quiet of the jungle. Bullets chewing through tree trunks and ripping through clothes. Her father's black Dragonfire engulfing the entirety of this makeshift battlefield. Black Doom's equally black magic unleashing unforeseen chaos and devastation throughout the area. And then…

Stillness.

Quiet.

Reprieve.

Shadow and Lia gradually relaxed their stances, each gazing upon the tattered remains of what had once been their enemy. Somehow, they had killed it, and without too much trouble… proving beyond any shadow of a doubt the true depths of their strength and resolve. Lia thought this whole ending was a touch… _boring_ , perhaps? Maybe she had just been looking forward to more ass-kicking. Or maybe she was just sick of all the death and all the _losing_ , wanted to savor an actual victory for the first time in perhaps too long. However, it soon ceased to matter, and for a very simple reason. Something else decided to show itself to them… something far more important and _infinitely_ more dangerous.

Malevolence _itself_ appeared before them.

At first, it was merely a _presence_ , something _felt_ as opposed to _seen_ … just as Sonic described experiencing weeks before. They could feel this presence all around them, seething and taunting, and then it all coalesced into a singular form comprised of the same visible energy as the monster's spawn. Perhaps purely to mock them, it created a body for itself that was reminiscent of a hedgehog… then grinned a grin so wide and unsettling and so full of _malice_ that it made even Shadow subtly freeze up beside her. However, it then anticlimactically vanished, leaving them unharmed. Father and daughter traded wary looks. A question passed between them without any words ever truly being spoken.

 _What in the hell was that all about…?_

 **~悪意~**

 **694 words this time. For the record, that fight was _meant_ to be boring. As stated in the chapter, it essentially just proved that they have really just grown that much stronger. While Shadow could not have hoped to defeat Black Doom in EotS, and Lia certainly could not have, they can now do so easily. They can _not_ defeat Malevolence easily, however, despite their increase in strength. This was just meant to help highlight that. As for "why fight Black Doom?", well... let's just say that Shadow has more of a history with the alien than he remembers, so this was a long-time coming. Anyway, short though this really is, hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:30 a.m.) 10-05-19.**


	9. Planetary Devastation

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this revelation... especially for the one who has a bit of an uncanny knack for finding things most others wouldn't.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, as I said in my author's note it was supposed to be short. :P And yeah, thank goodness for that, definitely.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Planetary Devastation"**

 **~悪意~**

In a vast and mostly open lush field surrounded by long-forgotten ancient ruins, Marthal awoke. A quick glance around revealed that he actually vaguely recognized the ruins (more specifically, what was left of the building in front of him), though not this place, from some prior wanderings during his teen years in ancient times. Partly out of genuine feline curiosity and partly to see if there was anyone else around (he doubted there was, since the only scents in the air were those of plants, stone, and the like), he got up and began slowly wandering around.

 _...These are hedgehog ruins._ Stepping up to what remained of an ancient building, Marthal examined the architecture before him. But, in the end, it was some extremely faded sections of a mural on a wall that convinced him he was right. _Yeah… definitely hedgehog. That's their highly freaking traditional art style, alright._ Turning away from the building, he scrutinized the area a bit more closely. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he was able to start picking out other signs of civilization. Bits of artifacts like pottery and artwork, sections of walls and roads, remnants of long-crumbled buildings, and more. _This was a part of a temple of sorts… the kind that wouldn't have been found in simple villages. Must have once been part of a city, then, back on South Island. Like Chun-nan. Great historical significance and all, but… I would have been better off appearing in a modern city as opposed to whatever remains of this one._

Sighing to himself, Marthal walked around some more, as he had nothing better to do right this second. _Maybe I'll get lucky and find some usable weapons or something… but that's probably not gonna happen._ Following his nose, he wandered around a small yet thick cluster of trees toward another stone wall. There was nothing especially interesting about it, so he walked to a different wall nearby. This one was collapsed and half-buried in the ground (as it clearly had been for an extremely long time). He started to dismiss it as uninteresting as well, but stopped when he noticed something. Just above the tips of the grass, nearly hidden under the ground, were… symbols. _No, not symbols,_ he realized after a long moment. _That's writing. Definitely writing._ More specifically, it was writing in the so-called "ancient language", the ancient hedgehog language that next to no one outside of Kaden and Analia's family still spoke or even knew of anymore.

Now intrigued, as the ancient hedgehogs weren't known for engraving walls and the like generally, Marthal frowned and unsheathed the claws in his hands before carefully digging up the ground a bit. This certainly uncovered the words that had been showing above the grass, but it by no means revealed to him everything that had been written. There was a surprisingly large amount, it seemed… which meant lots of digging, if he felt so inclined. He almost didn't, truth be told, but something about this wall was nagging at him. _Why would a city of hedgehogs, who didn't typically engrave their walls with much of anything let alone writing, spend the time carefully carving this many words into such a random wall_? Only a couple explanations came to mind. A memorial of sorts to an event of historical or cultural significance, for one thing, or maybe an unusual method recording of an important legend (such recordings had been found before, after all)... _Fine, then. Guess I'm digging up a damn wall. Hooray for me._

Mind made, he spent the next half an hour or better tearing up grass and dirt in an effort to unbury the wall. By the time he was finished, most of the wall was unburied but still laying in the large hole he had created around it. He made no attempt to move it out of that hole (it just wasn't worth it), and instead focused his time and energy on reading the ancient words that had been so mysteriously left on this otherwise ordinary bit of architecture.

Immediately, any regrets he may have had about spending his time on this were forever banished.

It was difficult to translate some of what had been recorded due to plenty of symbols being weathered away by time, weather, and other suchs forces, but Marthal was able to translate enough to get the gist of what was said. The carvings on the wall spoke of, of all things, a _previous_ attack on the world by Malevolence… one that only ended after it had "slaughtered the rulers of the known world, they who ruled the Darkness and the Arcana".

Swallowing hard, Marthal closed his eyes. _Rulers of Darkness and Arcana, rulers who governed the known world… That can't have been anybody else by Kaden's folks. Satsuno, a being of Darkness, and Seiko, one of the only people ever born of magic energies themselves… and not to mention in one of the realms of magic. And the known world being… all of South Island and even the few tiny parts of the Land of Darkness that people dared to live in. _His frown deepened. _They were definitely murdered. We all knew it, even back then. Kaden was just seventeen then, barely an adult, when they died under mysterious circumstances… torn apart within their castle._ That certainly wasn't something he'd put past Malevolence. It seemed to revel in bloodshed and gore, after all… But how had none of them (not him nor Locke nor Kaden nor _anyone_ else) known about Malevolence's presence here?

Though surprisingly a bit shaken by this revelation, Marthal opened his eyes again and continued reading. According to what was written, only some people dared to engage Malevolence in an effort to stop it. At the same time, _many_ people of great magical ability (because there _had_ been many back then, unlike now) were enlisted in an effort to keep the combat hidden from the masses in order to prevent a panic, a feat that had apparently been successful. But virtually all of them had died… save for one. _Someone_ had survived, someone Marthal had never met but couldn't _not_ recognize due to the descriptions he'd been given from those who had known him.

Based on the descriptions of this person's powers, their age, their skills, their physical appearance, their clothes, their weapon… there was no one else it could have been except for Saran the White, Kaden's childhood sensei and caretaker and Analia's great-grandfather. He himself had been born of Light just like his great-granddaughter, and there could never be any doubt of the man's immense power (power Analia would no doubt be near to rivalling by this time, had she not been killed). With Light as powerful of his, it actually made sense that this ancient carved story claimed he had been the one to deal with Malevolence back then, and in a wholly unexpected way.

Seven days in to the beast's sudden reign of terror on the planet, Saran had engaged it in combat on the wintry continent of Artika. There, he had supposedly used a combination of his immense magical power and equally immense power of Light to both create and seal Malevolence behind the now infamous "Black Gate" in an area now known as "the Garden of Darkness"... a place many believed to be inhabited by demons, evil spirits, and lost souls alike. Apparently, though, at the time they had been a gate and garden of _Light_ , as had the surrounding area. They had been bright and pure and not to mention _powerful_.

So far as Marthal could guess, Malevolence had simply corrupted both over time, weakening the bonds of its seal until they were _just_ weak enough that it could be freed. However, that didn't necessarily mean that it could have freed itself. Even seals like that couldn't last forever, but this one had been strong enough to last for many years more. Outside interference would have been needed for that seal to be broken, just as Malevolence had freed the Nocturne Clan from their seals using whatever energy it managed to leak out from its own seal. Which meant it almost certainly had help. But… from what? Or _who_?

Feeling troubled, Marthal quickly turned on his communicator. _This knowledge may not be everything we need to win here, but… at least it gives us an idea of what we can do to stop this thing, and not to mention how and why Malevolence is here now of all times in the first place._ With that in mind, he rapidly typed up everything he had read and privately thought on the subject, took pictures of the wall and carvings, and sent both out to everyone else. Who knew, maybe Sonic and Jet if _no_ one else would be able to make some sort of a plan based off of these findings. It may have been hoping for a bit too much, sure, but… hope was hope. They kind of needed some of that these days.

Suddenly, he felt a _presence_ behind him.

He whipped around just in time to see the most horrific and unholy grin he had ever witnessed, and then it happened. An explosion signaled the beginning of the end for him less than a single instant in time later. The explosion ripped through everything, stripping earth and rock from the ground, tearing trees from the earth, obliterating the ruins, disintegrating the plants, utterly destroying every single thing caught in its path… It was over in mere seconds, but the evastationg wrought to the area was unmistakable. A body covered in fiery orange fur lay motionless amidst the chaos, dead. Deep blue eyes stared vacantly at the ground… never to see again.

 **~悪意~**

 **1,644 words this time. GAH! THIS STORY KILLS ME! I KEEP HAVING TO KILL OF PEOPLE I LOVE. ;_; Posted (at about 8:00 a.m.) 10-06-18.**


	10. Dark Horses

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this startling memory... especially for the one who finally understands that she was tricked.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Review reply: Hello, MelGamingPlays! It wasn't Tails, I swear! Marthal was the only character in that chapter, remember, and he has blue eyes just like Tails… so he's the one who died. ;_;**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Dark Horses"**

 **~悪意~**

Since the flash that had divided the group, Kym had woken up and regrouped with four of the five people who were closest to her. Those people happened to be her parents and little sister, proving to her that they were safe and bringing her no end of relief. The four of them were gathered in the shade of a rocky outcropping on the edge of the savannah Mazuri, savoring the cool to be found there while trying to get ahold of the others. After all, neither Silver or Ava (the only ones here who could teleport) could take them back to Sonic or anyone else without knowing where they _were_.

Like her family, Kym was on her communicator. As such, she saw it immediately when Marthal's mass message reached them. She frowned out of confusion and opened the message to read. However, almost immediately she wished she hadn't. Reading everything Marthal had sent about Malevolence, it's previous attack on this world, how it had killed before, who had fought it, where it had been sealed… it _terrified_ her, because she knew. With a fierce jolt, she realized she _knew_ what had happened.

For the first time since her early childhood, she recalled what had happened with her and Lia during the Nocturne War. She remembered the encounter with the mysterious cat woman (a demon, perhaps, or maybe someone who had been possessed?) who had directed them to go to the gate in the first place. She remembered recalled being chased through the "Garden of Darkness" toward the gate by Nocturnians, reaching the gate with Lia, the two of them leaping through it, the experience they had had within its dark depths…

Oh, _god_ , that encounter.

She remembered… _everything_ about it.

 _To their young minds, it felt like it had been years since Kimmy and Lia had arrived in this place. At the behest of the strange white cat woman that they had met who knew how long ago, Kimmy and Lia had set out through the snow on the northern Mobian continent of Artika toward a place know by the locals as the "Garden of Darkness". Within it was a door-like structure with a stone arch and everything, which many apparently called the "Black Gate". Lia had heard about it before. Her daddy had once told her that it was considered by many to be the literal gateway to hell, where the greatest evil imaginable had last stood on their world. Or... something like that. He had told her that such a story was likely mere myth, but that the place was dangerous regardless. She had been told never to go there. And yet the woman had suggested that she and her cousin do just that, and she had somehow sounded so convincing... Maybe that tone had actually been the kind her daddy would call "manipulative". But it was too late to wonder about that now, wasn't it?_

 _It was strangely warm in this place, despite being so dark and devoid of any sort of Light. The Darkness was almost... soothing, in its own way, and she thought she possibly understood why. 'What was it that Papa once said...? "Darkness finds comfort in Darkness as much as Light does with other Light"?' Whatever the case, she didn't feel as afraid here now as she'd felt coming in (though being pursued by Nocturnians on the way here had certainly contributed then). In fact, she didn't feel afraid at all. It was... strange, to say the least._

 _To her right, Kimmy floated in the blackness as helplessly as Lia did. "Lia, are we going anywhere?" the kitten complained. "We've been floating forever."_

 _Little Lia frowned in thought. "I don't think so. It's kinda hard to tell, though. You know, since it's so dark and all..."_

 _That, apparently, gave Kimmy an idea. "Oh! Maybe we can use the flashlights on our communicators to help us see!" Her beaming smile was audible in her voice and entirely contagious._

 _"Good idea!" Without further ado, Lia turned on her small communicator's screen, tapped a button onscreen, and turned on the flashlight. Kimmy did the same thing at about the same time. Sweeping the thin beams of light around, they tried to see something in this place. Anything, really. But there was nothing. All around them was this all-encompassing and impenetrable blackness that seemed to have nothing but them in it. Their lights barely made the tiniest, most insignificant dents in it all._

 _A voice from both everywhere and nowhere finally succeeded in invoking momentary terror in the girls. "You should not have brought light in this place..." There was a shriek, maybe two, and Lia wasn't sure if it came from her or from Kimmy, or from both of them. Too terrified to speak, she just reflexively snapped her hand back to her communicator and shut it off. Kimmy, now trembling in the faint glow of her flashlight, kept hers on. That voice, that deep and menacing voice, spoke again. "So one of you is at least partially true to your Darkness... and one has inherited reserves of Light as well... how unfortunate."_

 _Honestly, Lia had no idea what provoked her to speak. "W...Which one... is unfortunate?" she asked meekly._

 _The mysterious, unseeable entity opted not to answer her question. "You have encroached upon my realm, brought with you lights, and resealed the gate... Such foolish, tiny creatures..."_

 _"We're in another realm?" Kimmy blurted out in alarm._

 _Again, the entity did not answer her. It did, however, voice it's own question for the first time. "Why have you come to this place, if not to die?"_

 _Trembling anew, Kimmy looked to Lia for help. Trying her damnedest to be brave like her father, Lia whimpered, "W-We were being chased, by, um," she swallowed hard, "by Nocturnians. They tried to kill us, and this cat lady we met told us we should come here... that it was tied to to our 'inheritance' or something like that..."_

 _"I see... so the Widow sent you, then... and those insects are indeed active once more..." Kimmy and Lia traded half-puzzled, half-terrified looks, but the entity continued. "Tell me, little creatures... where does your Darkness come from...?"_

 _They traded another puzzled look. "...From... our Papa," Lia said. "I-I mean, our grandfather. Her great-grandfather, technically."_

 _"And his name?"_

 _"It's... It's Kaden."_

 _"So it is the Child of Darkness, then... Zenith's successor." Before Kimmy or Lia could even ask, it said, "You are strange little creatures... One a blend of Darkness and Light, the other full of Darkness yet acting as though filled with Light... Each of you possesses what I need."_

 _Lia was too terrified now to ask. Kimmy, on the other hand, was always eager to help. That feeling apparently overrode her fear, at least briefly, as the entity spoke. "Oh, what did you need?"_

 _"Easy transport," the entity replied enigmatically. "It has been too long since I have moved and I remain weary... I have need of my portal... the one you have again closed."_

 _This made Lia frown. "So... you... want to go to... to our world?" The thought sent sharp chills up and down her spine. "W...Why?"_

 _"I seek to purge all realms of all that should not exist... all that has no place within existence."_

 _"So..." Kimmy frowned in thought, then made a decision that startled Lia. "So, you're kinda like a hero, then."_

 _"What?" Lia demanded, more confused than anything._

 _"I am unfamiliar with your terms, little creature."_

 _"Like, you get rid of bad guys and stop bad things from happening and stuff," Kimmy elaborated poorly._

 _The troubling thing was, the entity didn't truly agree with what Kimmy said. At least, not out loud. Instead it said, "Believe what you wish, little creature... I require only that the gate be reopened..."_

 _"And... you'll start getting rid of the bad things... right?" Lia asked, a little more hesitant than Kimmy now appeared to be._

 _"I will do as I have always done, little creature... regardless of what 'bad things' are out there."_

 _After a long, long moment, Kimmy and Lia turned together to where they could now sense the gate to be. Trading a look, they slowly reached out... and opened it._

For the first time since that fateful encounter, Kym understood what they had been tricked into doing… and what horrible things that entity had been alluding to with its words. The entity had been _Malevolence_. It had been talking about eliminating existence of _Light_. It had convinced her and Lia to _free_ it from a seal it had been placed under to _prevent_ it from killing again. And they… they had... _We set it free._ Horrified by the very idea, she sank to her knees. Unable to respond as her family quickly turned their attention to her in an effort to figure out what was wrong, she unwillingly focused on the one thought that kept running through the her mind.

 _What have we done...?_

 **~悪意~**

 **1,535 words this time. Quick note: a Google search of the phrase "dark horse" brings up this definition, hence the title of this chapter. "A candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds." It's very fitting, especially since Malevolence can be _kind of_ considered to be a competitor of sorts. Albeit one with _very_ opposite goals to that of the heroes. But, anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 7:35 a.m.) 10-07-18.**


	11. Blood Hunter

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this time of great sadness... especially for the one who feels nothing.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Well, the one child, yes. And yes, she was naive, but... really, _every_ three-year-old is (or was, in her case). Still sucks, though. :/**

 **Hello Blazing Winds! Your review to Chapter 5: Sorry :(**

 **Your review to Chapter 6: YES I DID AND I KNOW WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION, BUT I UTILIZED A TINY LOOPHOLE AND I WILL EXPLAIN ABOUT THAT LATER IF YOU WANT TO KNOW.**

 **Your review to Chapter 7: WTF _WERE_ YOU EXPECTING THEN, SERIOUSLY?! DX**

 **Your review to Chapter 8: Does no one read my author's notes? XD It was _meant_ to be, promise. **

**Your review to Chapter 9: YES, I DID IT, AND YES THAT IS WHAT I MEANT. SO, YEAH. ;_;**

 **Your review to Chapter 10: Yes... yes, it does hurt. ;_; And somehow, I'm not surprised that you knew that already.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Blood Hunter"**

 **~悪意~**

Scattered across various landscapes on New Babylon were various workshops and laboratories that Tammy had used back during the Syxan War. One in particular housed the sparrow's most powerful computer (or, rather, the Babylonian equivalent of such). So, naturally, that was the workship that she and Wave went to as soon as they left Sonic and the others behind on Mobius. Seated at the computer now, they spent their time using Jet's access keys - with his permission of course - to dig up old archived data on Malevolence. Everything from past encounters to ancient knowledge to long-forgotten wars came to light in no time at all. However, while the stories and intel they discovered certainly helped them to get a better idea of what sort of threat they were all _truly_ up against, nothing they saw helped them determine how to drive it away.

In the end, they found nothing that could be used to win them this war in any sort of fashion. They didn't even find anything that would help defend them all from this entity's wrath. All they found that was in any way useful to the group now was a single note, something recorded by a woman from many, many generations ago who had had a personal encounter with Malevolence… and written about it. _"You cannot touch this… creature,"_ she had written. _"Eira was foolish. She laid her hand upon its own when it took form before us, and now she is forever changed. The barest of touches is all it takes for it to irreparably change you. That touch will corrupt your heart, your mind, and your soul beyond repair. It will spell the end of you and forever change you into something… you were never meant to become."_

The two young inventors traded troubled looks upon reading this, then simultaneously froze when they felt a by now _horribly_ familiar energy surge up all around them. A surprise attack neither of them had seen coming ended with nothing less than murder. It was hard for Wave to fully process everything that happened next just then. Her mind registered a flurry of motion and Tammy's agonized scream, and only then did she manage to leap back and try to escape the ambush herself. Eyes wide and stomach lurching, she watched as Tammy was brutally mauled to death.

Wave was splattered with crimson liquid as the frenzied assault continued. It was only at that point that something in her brain clicked and she finally managed to force herself to flee. She turned, nearly in shock and more terrified now than she ever had been before, but not soon enough to avoid seeing what remained of her close friend finally slump lifelessly to the floor. Tammy's face was forever a mask of terror and pain, and Wave… Wave was incapable of saving her. Even if she had reacted sooner, she could never have done anything. All she could do now was try to escape with her _own_ life.

Choking back heavy sobs, she teleported away… just in time for their attacker to turn to face her.

 **~悪意~**

Espio awoke in the midst of dense and untamed wilderness and sat up. He blinked his one good eye several times to help it focus again after the flash that had split the group up, then pushed himself into a sitting position. A quick look around told him that he was sitting surrounded by thick bushes, so he stood up and picked his way through them until he located a tiny clearing in between all the trees and undergrowth.

Seated there were Meredith and West, whom he had sensed already from the moment he'd woken up. West looked up at him, visibly relieved, and told him, "...Sorry we left you in the bushes. We didn't want to move you in case you were actually injured or something."

The ninja merely blinked, incapable of caring in any capacity. "How long has it been?" he asked instead of continuing to address what he considered an irrelevant topic.

Both siblings shrugged. "Long enough for there to be trouble," Meredith murmured. She paused, then added, "Your communicator is usually off, isn't it?"

Taking the hint, Espio sat down near to them and turned the device on. Immediately, it was hit by a barrage of messages. All of them were on the topic of death… and those who had suffered it. Knuckles, Rouge, Marthal, and Sunny were all deceased now, but it was Sunny's name who held his attention the longest. The bunny had been such a happy, smiley little thing growing up. She had always reminded him strongly of Cream. Even now, just seeing Sunny's name drew up old memories he had from the years he had spent raising her mother. There were so, so many memories.

While it was true that Espio felt nothing, _couldn't_ feel anything, a part of him strongly believed that the loss of this girl so soon after the death of Cream would have crippled his heart… had he not become this way so long ago. But this, too, was irrelevant right now. What was relevant was preventing further loss of life. Something needed to be done. He was almost certainly not the one meant to end this fight, but that didn't mean he was meant to just sit idly by and watch, either. So, mind made, he stood again to leave. It may not have been his war to win, but he would fight regardless.

 **~悪意~**

Following the loss of his kin, Jet remained in space. He was visiting every single location his kin had ever introduced him to, both in this realm and outside of it, in his search for answers. Alone though he now was, he continued trying to find _some_ way to put an end to this terrible conflict. His kin had to have left _something_ behind, _anything_ that would help… right? And yet, as much as he tried to hold onto that hope, he had so far managed to find absolutely nothing. His hope was slowly diminishing… and he feared how much worse things were due to get on Mobius if he stayed out here too much longer on this search. But… what else could he do? He _had_ to find _something_ before he returned to the others.

More than anything, they needed _answers_.

 **~悪意~**

With a sort of pained grunt, Locke woke up in his house and sat up. Muttering curses under his breath, mostly out of irritable confusion over how he was _here_ , he located and grabbed his communicator. The small device looked a bit damaged, as though it had been knocked around with no tiny amount of force, but he nevertheless turned it on to try to get ahold of people. He had no idea how long he had been out and no idea what had been going on. Getting ahold of the others and getting that information was tantamount.

With surprising swiftness, the echidna began typing up a message. However, he was forced to quickly give up on finishing or sending it when his screen flashed with static more than once. Clearly, his communicator was more beaten up than it looked. So, with a sigh, Locke tossed the communicator onto a nearby chair and started to walk toward the front door with the intention to leave and go find the others.

A massive explosion proved that even the most benign of plans could end with tragedy.

In a scene _very_ reminiscent of the one that had lead to Marthal's death, crimson and black energy overtook everything within a ten mile radius, devastating _everything_. Plants and animals alike were turned to dust and then that dust disintegrated into nothing. The house was wiped off the face of planet, along with all of the priceless historical artifacts that had for so long been safely stored within it. The terribly abused ground was blasted to smithereens, further ensuring that the entire area saw devastation of an unprecedented level.

Finally, the energies receded, leaving an agonizing crater behind amidst thick, raging crimson fires. The entire area had been effectively incinerated and disintegrated, leaving little but a massive scorch mark and some horribly charred rubble behind within the crater. Beyond the crater, countless plants and animals lay dead all around. Trees had been stripped of their bark. Delicate plants such as flowers and grass lay limp and uprooted… at least, the few that weren't simply reduced to dust. What small number of animals remained that weren't destroyed outright lay in pools of their own blood.

They were dead.

Locke's home was gone.

He had no body there to find.

 **~悪意~**

 **1,471 words this time. I AM _SO_ SORRY, BUT I PROMISE THAT LATER YOU'LL SEE THAT THIS CHAPTER ISN'T AS BAD AS IT SEEMS. JUST... WAIT UNTIL "GUARDIAN". YOU'LL SEE. UNTIL THEN, I'M SORRY. Posted (at about 6:05 a.m.) 10-07-18.**


	12. Omnia Mors de Rerum

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this dangerous period of time... especially for the one who is _no_ fool... in spite of his foolish pretense.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Uh, yeah, _definitely_. Except... kinda just in the background, as you know. XD**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... it's sad. :( And yes, you can trust me on that one.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Omnia Mors de Rerum ("Death of All Things")"**

 **~悪意~**

All alone near a small Mobian town, Hannah, Ten, and his wife Meika had an encounter with Malevolence itself. It appeared before them, loosely forming a body of energy in the form of a sort of pseudo-Babylonian. It never spoke a single word to them, merely _stared_ and filled their minds with horrible, horrible visions. Visions… of all manner of different ways everyone they knew might _die_ in the coming days. They saw visions of people maimed to death, their lives bleeding out of them, people burning into nothing, people being crushed and clawed and bitten and blasted and stabbed and beaten and… At the very end, they saw a vision that affected them far more than nearly any other could.

 _They saw Jet, utterly surrounded by the fire he so feared... unable to escape even as he ushered his family to safety. Immediately afterward, Malevolence itself surged forward and blood flew._

At that point, the visions were abruptly cut off, leaving even normally calm and collected Hannah wide-eyed and shaking. With one final sinister grin Malevolence inexplicably vanished, leaving them alone and unharmed and weighed down with the horrible sensation that things were going to end very soon… on _far_ from a happy note. Someone else was going to die. If nothing else, they knew _that_ for certain.

 **~悪意~**

Trapped together in a horrible clash against a seemingly endless tide of Malevolence's spawn, Blaze, Silver, Kym, and Ava fought valiantly to win the fight and to defend one another. They had been attacked over and over and over again by these beasts in the span of mere hours, but they just continued to come. And, naturally, these beasts weren't alive and therefore didn't get tired… but Silver and his family _did_. The four of them were becoming exhausted to the point where they were starting to visibly weaken. _We're too damn tired to keep this up… and the assholes know it. We've gotta break away._

Gritting his teeth, Silver surged into the air and gathered his power. If he could just unleash it with enough force, blast these creatures away long enough… _The girls might be able to get out of here._ Closing his eyes for a moment, he linked his mind to his wife and daughters' and told them, _"We might only have one shot here, so listen up real quick. As soon as I attack, you three have to go."_

Kym's eyes went wide. He could feel, thanks to this connection. _"Dad, no! We can't leave you here by yourself!"_

 _"Kym is right,"_ Blaze agreed hastily, a rare note of fear entering her voice even in her mind. _"To do so would be foolish."_

Silver managed a small smile. _"Good thing I'm a bit of a fool then. But this time, I'm serious. I want you three to get the heck outta here and find the others. I'll join you as soon as I can."_

 _"Father…"_ Ava murmured mentally, mind swimming with concerns. But, in the end, all she said was, _"Father, please… do not do this. You cannot kill them all on your own."_

 _"Not planning to,"_ Silver assured her easily. _"I'm just buying time. And I need you to teleport your mother and sister to safety. Got it?"_

Her head bowed and though he sensed she didn't want to, she conceded. It wasn't often that Silver gave orders, after all, and she knew better than to ignore him the few times that he did do it. _"I… understand."_

 _"Good. Get ready, then."_

Silver took in a slow breath to clear his mind, paving the way for pure concentrating and focus. Power began to saturate the air around him, flow through him, glowing and crackling with frenetic energy. Then, eyes snapping open, he unleashed it all with the pure power of his mind and heart. His special Dragonfire, his magic, his Light, and his psychokinetic energy surged down into the battlefield. The towering pillar of light and power that engulfed said battlefield and all the creatures on it decimated the area… but not before his family safely vanished with the power of Ava's inherited psychokinetic powers.

Relieved that everything was going to plan so far, Silver flew downward to continue fighting… just until it was time to go.

 **~悪意~**

Dual flashes of powerful magic were finally enough to end the fight that had sprung up mere minutes after Sonic had regrouped with Amy, Emi, and Grey. The fight had been positively brutal, leaving each of them terribly wounded. They had suffered everything from bites and slashes to energy burns and blunt force wounds and worse, but… _At least we're alive… for now._ Turning away from the site of the final attack of this skirmish, Sonic watched as his wife and son quickly set about healing themselves and Amy. He left them to it, choosing to limp away from the trio for a moment to retrieve Caliburn (which had been knocked out of his hand nearly fifteen minutes before by one of the creatures). He bent down and grabbed the handle of the sword, then scowled and looked up. "The fuck do _you_ want?" he snarled.

Looming over him was a very dark and very familiar grinning man… Kethro the Dark. "Why. I am merely observing your apparent… _mortality_."

Sonic's frown deepened. He knew a bit about semi-Immortals now. Not much, but enough to know that he apparently was one. That meant he most definitely was _not_ a mortal. "You're fucking full of it."

"Am I, now?" Kethro's grin grew. "Interesting… and here I had believed that there was a _reason_ why you were growing old. Just as a mortal would."

Gripping his sword tightly, Sonic stood up. "The hell are you on about?" he demanded.

"The fact that you don't know shouldn't be surprising, I suppose," Kethro laughed. "Your parents did a _pitiful_ job of educating you." A fresh snarl bubbled up in Sonic's throat. Kethro, meanwhile, just grinned at him once again. "Tell you what, boy. If only for my own amusement, I will explain this to you. You see, your Chaos and the Light and Darkness within it… the very _source_ of your semi-Immortality as you must know by now, is sealed away beyond your physical body. Thus, your body is no better than a mere mortal's and always will be… until your Chaos is ever freed and allowed to exist within _you_ … if that ever happens."

Slowly, realization set in and Kethro laughed a second time. "Do you understand, now?" the dark man asked gleefully. "You may not be a true mortal, but thanks to that seal you can and _will_ die like one. And that time, Child of Chaos, is coming soon. The time for death is not yet over. How will you handle more losses, I wonder?"

His grip now so tight that it hurt, Sonic bit out, "I'll start by killing you first."

"Perhaps you will try, but your efforts will be in vain." Kethro slowly tilted his head to the side. "And even if you succeed, things will not end in your favor."

"Talk sense!" Sonic snapped. "What the fuck are you talking about _now_?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kethro's grin grew to a frightening size. "Don't you want to know… the _truth_ about what happened on that day?" Sonic's ears went back out of sheer confusion, and Kethro laughed at him yet _again_. "I promise to tell you… so long as you die quietly afterward!"

Sonic was _done_ listening at this point. Snarling furiously, he sprang forward and slashed through Kethro's image, forcing the apparent illusion to vanish. Only after it was gone, leaving no traces of it behind, did Sonic think to wonder what in the hell the man had been talking about.

 **~悪意~**

When Wave finally reappeared back on Mobius, she did so mere feet from Sonic, Amy, Emi, and Grey. She was visibly panicking and very obviously in shock, so Sonic thought it was for the best that Amy was the one to approach her. Sonic focused on keeping watch over the four of them to ensure no further surprise attacks happened, but his keen ears remained alert and focused on his wife and their old friend.

Wave was so distraught that it took time for her to calm down enough to speak. "T-Tammy," she gasped out eventually. Her eyes were flooded with tears.

"What about her?" Amy asked gently, though her tone communicated the growing fear she and Sonic both were starting to feel.

Trembling, Wave squeezed her eyes shut. "D... She... She's d-dead," she whimpered in a tiny voice.

Sonic felt himself freeze, his mouth dropping open and his ears snapping back. _No... No, not her, too..._

Though she continued to quiver with emotion, Wave made a visible effort to reign said emotions in enough to provide further information. "W-we went to N-New B-Babylon," she cried. This tiny bit of information was already alarming. How had Malevolence even _gotten_ there, despite all the massive planetary barriers surrounding the world? Was _nowhere_ in the universe safe? "We were in a workshop. We were d-doing research like we s-said we were going to. We d-didn't f-find much before we were a-attacked and- and it _tore her apart_...!"

Sensing her freshly building hysteria, Sonic quickly changed the subject just a tad. It could very well have come across as seeming heartless, like he didn't care about the death, but he hoped she would understand that it was only to help ground her that he brought it up now. "You found _something_ , though?"

Thankfully, her mind wasn't so lost to emotion that Wave failed to see what he was trying to do. In fact, she seemed to both understand... and be grateful for it. "Y-yeah," she murmured weakly. "Just th-that you can't... _touch_ Malevolence. Supposedly i-it... _corrupts_ you if you do. If you s-survive the t-touch that is."

Sonic stared at the swallow in silent dismay. _What the fucking hell... How are we meant to fight something that we can't even touch...?_

 **~悪意~**

On an isolated jungle island, molten lava flowed several feet thick down the slopes of a volcano. The broad shoulders of a muscled yet very aged grey body were half-submerged and still sinking in the fiery and devastating flow. Scant feet away, a malevolent beast pranced gleefully through the lava as well, clearly reveling in the gruesome death. As its body was comprised of nothing but energy, it bore no marks to remind it of the fight that had taken place minutes before this. And yet remember it did, and quite willingly.

It had found its prey in the man's home and attacked with claws and teeth, prompting the old man to fight back with his staff. The volcano had already been spurting tons and tons of lava and ash by that time, as it did every few centuries or so. The creature had destroyed the home the bird had lived in for so many lonely years, then then violently drove him closer and closer to the lava... and finally launched him into it. Storm had never had a chance.

And now he and his staff were going to disappear, with not a trace left behind.

 **~悪意~**

It was cool and quiet when Shadow and Lia, closely followed by Alex and Shen (who had been together this whole time it later turned out), all made it back to Sonic and his group. Shen and Lia almost immediately began to share a subdued yet no less heartfelt reunion of their own sort while Shadow simply walked away to sit against a rock and tuned everyone else out... his method of focusing on and dealing with his own thoughts and emotions, Emi knew. Alex, meanwhile, walked over to Emi's parents to talk to them about something or other. Whatever it was didn't matter to Emi right now, who quickly focused instead on talking to her younger brother. "...Hey, Grey?" He turned his head to face her. "Are you worried about...? Well, all of this, really."

As always, Grey was silent. He had never made any sort of vocalization in the entirety of his life, let alone spoken. Sometimes she wondered what his voice would sound like if he _could_ speak, but he couldn't. And yet, she had no trouble communicating with and understanding him regardless. She was able to read his nonverbal, nonvocal replies just as easily as she could read the words in a book. And this time, his response clearly communicated to her a simple, _"Yes, I am."_

Emi pursed her lips together, then heaved a heavy sigh. "Yeah... me, too."

With a small gesture of his head, Grey signaled the others around them. She read the meaning in his action just as easily as before. _"So are they."_

"Mm-hm," Emi agreed softly. "I've never seen Mom and Dad so... upset. Not even when they talk about how their parents died, and that war that killed them and so many other people. And even Uncle Shadow isn't unaffected."

In response to that, Grey made a hand-sign. He had learned how to sign as a child, though he barely used that knowledge when communicating with his sister... if only because he didn't _need_ to. The meaning of the sign was simple. _"Loss."_

Pink ears lowered a degree. "...You're right. So much loss and bloodshed would get to just about anyone, huh? Even people like Uncle Shadow. And he and Lia lost Soren so quickly and horribly, too..." Grey nodded, and Emi was silent for a time before continuing. "Do you think Uncle Jet is going to manage to get help here in time to save the rest of us?"

This time, Grey just shrugged and shook his head. A clear, _"I don't know,"_ or _"Maybe."_ Perhaps it was even both. Emi closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift wherever they wanted to for a time after that, only paying them any real mind when she randomly recalled a line in a song her grandfather Kaden had once written... a song whose lyrics she had read many a time as a child.

 _"And they say that a hero can save us, I'm not gonna stand here and wait..."_

Opening her eyes, Emi lifted her hand palm-up as though to inspect it. Then, pursing her lips together again, she called forth the magic she had inherited from that very same man, allowing it to engulf her hand in a bright ball of blue power. Glancing to her brother, she watched as he stared at her hand for a moment before calling forth his Light-infused magic (an inheritance from their grandmother) into his own hand. It was a show of solidarity and determination that only further fueled her rapidly growing resolve. _Grandfather never waited to be rescued. When he needed saving, he saved himself. Grey and I may not be as powerful now as he was back then, but we will make a difference in this war... somehow._

 _We won't let anyone else die if we can help it._

 **~悪意~**

 **2,599 words this time. I know this got _plenty_ dark in more than one scene, but hopefully you all enjoyed nevertheless. Also, if you're wondering what the song Emi referenced was, it was "Hero" by Nickleback. It's from one of the old Spider-Man movies with Toby McGuire. Uh... number two or three, I think. Posted (at about 6:55 a.m.) 10-09-18.**


	13. Shadows Within

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this revealing scene... especially for the ones who know some of what is to come.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, I agree. Going down fighting is _far_ better than dying in fear without having done anything at all.**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! I KNOOOW. ;_;**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Shadows Within"**

 **~悪意~**

Kethro was floating in a cavern of sorts, eyes closed and body in a cross-legged sitting position as he let his thoughts wander from place to place with no real direction. It was dark here, quiet, and though water dripped and flowed in endless noisy streams around him, he was rather content... almost sort of peaceful even… until he sensed _her_. Now suddenly irritated, he frowned and muttered without opening his eyes, "What do you want, _Witch_?" This was the name he and all the rest of his clan had nearly always referred to her by, and he had no intention of using any other name.

"Well, wasn't that uncalled for?" Astra posed her question rhetorically, smirking as she walked in. "I only came to converse some details of the future." She didn't seem keen on leaving until whatever she wanted was fulfilled, having already sat herself down in the air near him.

Dark eyes cracked open. His usual sardonic grin and wicked humor lacking, he simply muttered, "Leave and bother some other unfortunate soul."

The cat shrugged faintly, her magic giving off a faint glow simply to break the darkness in the area. "You _are_ the unfortunate soul, and will be once again in the future nearer than you may think."

Those eyes closed again. "I am aware of that, Witch," he muttered.

"Oh?" Her gaze fell on him, curious as to how he knew. "Then you know of _her_? The one behind the little _hero massacre_?"

"Given that she is the one who granted Malevolence the _ability_ to wipe out those three… there is no way I could not." With this simple answer out of the way, Kethro started to try to tune her out… for all the good _that_ did.

Astra licked her lips. "Mm… That had to be one of the most wondrous displays I've seen in my lifetime." The cat purred, shivering contently.

"Do not get too lost in fantasies of bloodshed," Kethro huffed. "They will not serve you here." This was a clear warning to her not to try anything against him should she allow her bloodlust to get too strong.

"I have no intention of trying to enact this against you, _friend_." Her tone dripped with sarcasm, a smirk playing onto her face. "I have no need of doing something another will do for me. I must simply wait, and you will no longer be a problem for me."

In a very rare act that was true to his former _hedgehog_ lineage (from back before he and his clan had corrupted themselves irreparably), Kethro bared his fangs and growled lowly. "Silence yourself before I end you."

Astra took her chances, managing a smile. "How about I play the game here and begin anew a battle of hatred? I'm sure he'd _love_ a shot at killing you."

Finally, Kethro opened his eyes again. "What are you on about, Witch?"

"Our common enemy," she answered, giggling a tad to herself. "You know, the only one currently alive with enough potential to ascend."

He scoffed. "So it _was_ you who placed the seed," he observed moodily.

The cat shrugged. "It was a trivial matter, really."

"You are an irritation," Kethro muttered, though his words came out as more of a sigh than anything else.

"As you have always insisted, although you must admit that I oft bring information that some may find… _useful_. Such as the recent fates of a rather select few." Astra seemed pleased with herself, settling down rather comfortably. "Such as the disciple of the warrior woman who once helped stop your beloved _clan_. They have grown rather strong."

A dark eyebrow twitched noticeably, but Kethro didn't take the bait… this time. "And I have reason to care?" he questioned her, irritated anew.

She pondered this for a long moment, pursing her lips together. "I would say yes, however…" Astra snickered faintly in amusement. "I doubt it'll come to fruition before your eyes." Another scoff, and Kethro looked away. "Now, onto the matter of someone that is concerningly similar to you."

Kethro openly frowned at her. _Now who is she talking about?_

"The God of Death, a being far more concerning now than ever." Astra answered, her black and white tail swishing about in the air. "I could truthfully say that the three of us do have one trait in common now."

True though that statement was, Kethro chose not to acknowledge it aloud. "What about him?" he demanded lowly. "Why are you bringing _him_ up, of all beings?"

She smiled in a wicked and rather disturbing manner that in no way fazed Kethro. "He has been turned. I expect him to become the new... Night."

His eyebrows drew downward a degree. "Oh?" he returned softly.

"He is already dangerously powerful, Kethro. You know this. I just can't wait to see if he'll be the one to bring the ones who watch over existence out from their long slumber. If not him, I want it to be _me_."

"If all goes according to _her_ plan," Kethro told her grimly, "it will be he, alongside several others, who brings the fabled End upon us all."

The cat nodded. "I don't foresee her plan being fulfilled, if only because our enemy won't let it. He's… far too stubborn."

"...That he is," Kethro conceded quietly. _That is just one of many reasons why he is so amusing to fight._

"Now… to the one who brings life. They live even now." She said vaguely, glancing away from Kethro finally.

"That she does," Kethro acknowledged quietly.

Astra took a moment of silence to herself to think. "Should we act? Surely her removal would bring…" She paused for a moment. "That's a plan I do not wish to carry out, now that I ponder it further."

"I do not believe _he_ would appreciate the interference," Kethro told her darkly. "He may very well slaughter you for removing his… _entertainment_."

"That's why I plan to not act. I would rather… not." In response to her statement, Kethro merely murmured a vague agreement. "Anyway, I presume that this is all we have to speak of."

"That _you_ have to speak of," Kethro corrected testily. "I was perfectly fine sitting here _not_ talking before you sauntered in."

Astra smirked, standing on a platform she created and stretching. "That's why I showed myself here. If you're too comfortable, then I grow restless and agitated." The telltale black marks that stained her fur grew as she began moving to leave. "I will take my leave, if only to go cause more grief for more people. Perhaps shed and taste blood once more." Kethro simply closed his eyes, dismissing her. She teleported away, leaving him to his own devices.

 **~悪意~**

 **1,147 words this time. Hope you guys enjoyed this bit of foreshadowing. Many thanks to Blazing Winds for writing this with me. He, of course, wrote Astra's parts. Posted (at about 6:30 a.m.) 10-10-18.**


	14. Eternal Shadow Falls

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this dark and dreary time... especially for the one who is more traumatized by all this than has really been shown.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yep, lots of foreshadowing. :) Might I ask which two your referring to? I just wanna see if you're on the right track. You thinking about Sonic and Jet, the two characters that I listed in this story's tags? ;) Well, I think I got this up on time, lol! Hope you enjoy!**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Eternal Shadow Falls"**

 **~悪意~**

Of all the things Jet expected to find in his search for answers, he hadn't expected _this_.

Stones of Lore were exceptionally rare, and older than most really knew. They had been invented by an Immortal named Urath, who had been the firstborn of the _second_ generation of Immortals. That was so long ago now that next to no one alive anymore was capable of understanding. But that wasn't the only reason why these stones (which looked to the uneducated like mere stones, albeit ones that were half-circle in shape and bore old markings) were special.

These stones, Jet knew, had a very particular use. Using a special kind of magic, Immortals could use these stones to record their voices, their words. These recordings could never be changed, destroyed, or otherwise messed with. And Jet… he had never before been permitted to listen to any. He wasn't sure if taking the time to do so now was even wise, but something compelled him to kneel down in front of the long-abandoned stone within the ancient realm it had been placed in. Though hesitant, he reached his hand out and gently laid his palm over the prominent swirling symbol that had been engraved in the stone.

A voice immediately began to speak. Whose it was and when they were from, he had no idea. All he knew was that the voice was that of a woman, and she had spoken of… the Night. Specifically, she had recorded her telling of a drawn-out conflict with the entity, one that had actually ended in it being sealed away within a realm known as the Twilight Cage… a realm _she_ had crafted for this specific purpose. She had even explained in careful detail _how_ she had done this, "for the sake of all future generations to come".

When the stone fell silent, Jet stood up. Though this newfound knowledge was perhaps the only hope he and his allies now had, he knew his own power and his limits. He was far from foolish enough to think himself powerful enough to pull this off… but what other choice was there than to try? So, gritting his teeth, he shifted back into his home realm. When he reappeared back in outer space near where his kin had been murdered, he began flying back to Mobius. As soon as he had the energy to (realm-shifting was still an exhaustive process), he was going to teleport back to the planet and those he had left behind on it. He had news to share.

 **~悪意~**

Sometime after having been separated from everyone else by that mysterious flash, Arthr was flying in a ship he had… _acquired_ from a decimated city he had stumbled upon (which happened to be on the jungle continent of Tralius, which was _covered_ in aptly named no-power zones). Being the expert pilot that he was, he had anticipated a fairly quick and easy flight back toward the where the group had previously been, but as with all best laid plans… his had been ruined. He had been attacked multiple times by Malevolence's spawn already before he had even reached the ocean.

Now that he was flying over said ocean… he was deeply regretting having done so. Creatures swarmed his "borrowed" vessel, biting through the cockpit, shredding the metal sides, ripping apart the wings, clawing at the engine… Soon, there was nothing left separating him from them, and they began reaching in and clawing and biting at him as well as the ship. The engine died at nearly the same time, and the ship began to plummet. Amber eyes shining with sudden fear, the brown hawk began struggling with the controls of the ship. He fought for any shred of control, but it was no use.

Realizing this, he tried in desperation to teleport, but he was still within one of this damned no-power zones. With nothing else left that he could do, he braced for impact just as the ship slammed straight down into the sea with destructive force. The impact combined with his injuries knocked him unconscious in an instant, and the ship rapidly sank… still covered in bloodthirsty beasts.

He never resurfaced.

 **~悪意~**

When Sonic and his group were attacked once again, Sonic was expecting quite a few things. He was expecting plenty of beasts to show up, and they didn't disappoint. He expected plenty of gunfire from his half-brother and niece, which of course happened. He expected his sword to be useless in the fight, which it was. He expected Amy and Alex to do their best to help fight but mostly wind up focusing on defense, and they did. He expected Emi and Grey to use their magic to fight, which they definitely did do. He even expected Shen and Wave to provide some powerful aid, he with his unique powers and she with hers, and they certainly did so.

Now, what he _wasn't_ expected was for Ava to suddenly appear amidst the group with Blaze and Kym. They joined the fight without hesitation, but their mere presence there surprised him… and concerned him. Because, of course, someone was missing from that little group. _Where's Silver?_

Moments later, there was another unexpected surprise. Without any warning, Wave's father of all people suddenly appeared amidst the chaos and joined the fight. One look at his condition and it was clear that he had almost certainly been fighting these enemies just as long as Sonic and the others had been, but that wasn't what kept Sonic's attention on the tan-colored Hexan. Instead, it was the man's use of his Hexan magic… magic Sonic had scarcely ever seen before with his own eyes.

Working in perfect tandem, father and daughter rapidly drove the creatures back and away… proving once and for all just how powerful Hexans truly were.

 **~悪意~**

There was no way to sense the attack coming. Jet realized only when it was far too late that he was in danger. Whipping around, he spotted Kethro and Malevolence itself each behind him, already poised to strike. All he could do was try to call up a barrier to defend himself just as their attacks struck him, sending him hurtling backward through the emptiness of space.

Clearly hellbent on making a kill, the pair made chase.

 **~悪意~**

In relative silence within his shelter on Angel Island, Tails watched Luna sleep in a makeshift crib he had built and thought. And he thought and he thought and he thought… all about everything that had happened in this horrible conflict. Families torn apart, lives taken, blood spilled, entire settlements destroyed, a planet terrorized… _I don't know how many catastrophes this planet can take. Or its people, for that matter. Everyone has a limit. Well, everyone who isn't an unassailable entity like Malevolence or a True Immortal, that is._

Turning his head away from his slumbering foster child, Tails closed his eyes. _Jet said Malevolence is here to feed on Light… and we can't seem to do anything to drive it away or otherwise prevent from achieving it's goal. So… it stands to reason that it won't leave until it has done what it came here to do… right?_ Pursing his lips together, Tails strained his mind. _Think… where would it find the most Light on this world? That is… who would have the most readily-available Light for it to take? Only a few have enough to draw it's focus, surely. And none of them are quite equal in power, so… chances are that it'll go for the strongest source it can get its proverbial hands on. ...Which means, the most likely target would be…_

With a jolt, Tails understood. His eyes snapped open and he reflexively leapt from his seat. "Oh, _no_ …" he moaned, dread turning his body into limp and useless mush. He sank back into a sitting position, head in his hands. "No, no, no, no, _no_ …" Minutes passed, and gradually he realized that he had to tell someone. Shaking hands reached for his communicator. He turned the screen on once he had it in his hand and, with a thundering heart, he pulled up various contacts and began typing up a message. He doubted it would send from this location, but he knew he _had_ to try. They couldn't lose this man, too. Not him.

He _couldn't_ be the next to die...

 **~悪意~**

 **1,411 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 11:00 a.m.) 10-11-18.**


	15. Tenebris

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this brief skirmish... especially for the one with so much courage.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Nice, I guessed right! Lol XD I agree, that would certainly make sense. Plus there _are_ more or less _the_ two main characters by this point. Hm, that depends. Which poor, unfortunate soul are you thinking of? You don't have to tell me, by the way, but even if you do I promise I won't spoil the actual answer. ;) Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Tenebris ("Darkness")"**

 **~悪意~**

Jet's mind was… fuzzy with a potentially lethal mixture of exhaustion, extreme injury, and pain that bordered on agony by the time he managed to escape from his attackers. He had gotten away without dying, but he was still in dire straits as he appeared back on Mobius. Using the very last of his energy, he had teleported here. Though… his condition was such that he couldn't even exactly think of _why_ he had come here.

In silence, he landed lightly on his feet in the middle of some vast, lush, grassy meadow surrounded by forests on one side and mountains on the other. Slowly, he sank down onto his knees in the cool green grass. The afternoon spring sun beamed down at him. He was _so_ tired and in so, _so_ much pain. He was absolutely _covered_ in wounds and was soaked in his own blood - more of which he was still losing. His vision blurred as he fought to catch his breath. He was _so_ tired… tired to the point that he didn't even sense who else was in the area, in fact.

Several miles away, Sonic became stricken by a terrible gut feeling. Something is wrong. _Something… something is really wrong._ A second later, he got a really good idea of _why_. He realized now that he could sense Jet's aura, and his best friend's energies felt weak and… faint. Very, _very_ faint, as though he was- _No, do not think like that._ Resisting the sudden and nearly overwhelming urge to bite into his lower lip, he all but jumped to his feet. This of course garnered him more than a few concerned looks, so he was quick to explain, "Jet's here somewhere. He just got here, I think, and something doesn't seem right. I'm going to go check on him. I think he's hurt."

The vague lightheartedness that the group had been trying to foster during this tiny bit of downtime and reprieve died with Sonic's former hopes that his friend would be able to lend significant aid upon his return. Everyone's mood sobered immediately, and Amy stood. "Go, Sonic. Don't wait up for us. We'll catch up."

Though he hated the leave everyone here alone, he took what comfort he could from his wife's quiet strength and determination. "Be fast - just in case."

She inclined her head, not at all afraid. "We will."

Without further delay, Sonic turned and sped off. Amy might not have been afraid, but he _was_. The urge to reach his friend as fast as possible was powerful because, despite knowing that Jet was an Immortal and couldn't permanently die unless one of his kin killed him (which they would never do), he still couldn't stand the idea of Jet dying at all regardless. And somehow, he doubted Jet was fond of such an experience, either. _Good thing, too, since that's a deterrent from suicide in spite of the depression he suffers from now and then… which can also lead to permanent death, since it's still technically an Immortal killing an Immortal._

Shaking such morbid thoughts from his mind as best as he could, he sped up as much as he capable of doing, rocketing across the landscape so fast that he may as well have teleported. He was at his friend's side in a veritable instant, and without thinking he grabbed his barely-conscious friend by the arm and hauled him up. Maybe it was in some sort of a vain attempt to keep Jet awake, as though making the bloodied hawk stand would somehow keep him from passing out. He didn't really know, was well aware of that fact that his logic was flawed, but he didn't care. All he cared about was making sure Jet didn't _die_. No one could take anymore death… even the non-permanent kind.

Jet blinked blearily, everything fading in and out of focus as he fought to wrap his mind around the sudden change in his position. He was vaguely aware of having been moved, but he wasn't sure why or how or even how long ago it had happened. All he really knew was that it _had_ happened… and he felt like he might black out. But then he heard a voice, and very slowly it clicked that someone else was here.

 _"Hang on."_

That voice. He… knew that voice. Foggy though his head was, he was certain he knew that voice. It took him a few moments, or maybe even longer, but eventually he was able to put a name to the voice. _...Sonic._

Around that time, Sonic spoke again. He sounded so distant… so quiet. It was hard to focus on him, hard to listen to his words, but he insisted, _"Just hang on. Help is coming."_ But Jet didn't want help. He didn't feel like he wanted anything, really. It was just so hard to want anything besides sleep right now... the kind that was supposed to last for an eternity. But, of course, Sonic could almost certainly sense this. The hedgehog shook him a little, jostling him enough to startle him into opening his eyes again for a moment, though this time he saw only blurs. His vision failed to refocus. The pain he felt from the movement was so dull and distant that he barely took notice of it.

Sonic's worry only intensified when Jet failed to reply in anyway aside from that weak flutter of his eyelids. The hawk had just proved that he was still responsive, which was a very good thing of course, but his friend was fading fast. This was _so_ bad... "Don't go to sleep, Jet," he commanded, though he didn't know whether or not his words were heard. He was aware of a tremor in his voice. "Help is coming. I promise, it will be here soon." No response. A lump was forming in his throat. It hurt, but he did his best to swallow past it so that he could speak again. "Jet, you have to stay awake. Stay _awake_ , you hear me?" He was incredibly relieved that his friend seemed to be at least _attempting_ to do as he was told, but...

Jet swayed on his feet, almost staggering from the effort it took to remain upright. At this point, Sonic was forced to begin to acknowledge the most horrible possibility of them all... and that was that help wouldn't arrive soon enough. Sure, it would technically be worse if someone else, _anyone_ else, was in this situation instead of Jet… but it was _because_ it was Jet that worry and fear stabbed so deeply into Sonic's heart. Aside from Locke, this was Sonic's oldest friend. This was his _closest_ friend. This was someone who may as well have been his _brother_. Losing him, however temporarily, terrified him. He'd lost enough friends, enough _family_ , already. _I can't lose you, too. Don't… don't you dare die._

Suddenly, there was a surge of malicious energy in the energy.

It took not a second for Sonic realized who _else_ was now here. Terror shifted into anger that built into rage and then simmered into a cold, lethal fury. Without turning around, he gently moved Jet (who was nearly completely unconscious by this point) back down to the ground. When Jet swayed even while simply sitting on his knees again, Sonic made sure to carefully lay him down on his side, pinning Alkarus's apparently empty sheath beneath his hip, so that he wouldn't fall - and hopefully wouldn't choke on his own blood. Only then did he turn to face the newcomer… and note with grim satisfaction that this dark, horrible man was also injured and close to death.

 _Jet did a fucking number on him, and wouldn't have shied away from killing the bastard… so it stands to reason that he couldn't kill him._ Glancing back, Sonic briefly assessed Jet's injuries with a critical eye. "Couldn't fight fair for once in your misbegotten life, huh Kethro?" he growled, turning his head back around. His voice was laced with such raw, venom that even he barely recognize it. "You _had_ to have Malevolence help you gang up on him just so your own ass wouldn't get beat to fucking Hell and back, didn't you? Fucking _pathetic_."

Kethro appeared to try to grin at him. However, it came across as more of a pained grimace. He was clutching at a deep slash that split his abdomen open lengthwise. No doubt that was a wound he had received from Alkarus… which Kethro was also holding. Sonic knew from past conversations with Jet that because Alkarus was an Immortal weapon _only_ Immortals could utilize it to its full immense potential… but even so, an unbreakable and impossibly powerful sword was dangerous in the hands of _anyone_ who could swing it. In the hands of someone like Kethro, those risks were even worse.

"You assume much," Kethro bit out. He finally managed some semblance of a grin, one he actually seemed to mean. "And you expect too much of your dear friend - or perhaps too little."

It was probably best not to take the bait, but Sonic did it anyway. "And that means _what_?"

"If I told you that _this_ will not kill him, what will you say?" Kethro inquired, tone almost silky. God, he enjoyed screwing with people far too much for anyone's good. "And if I said that _everyone_ may well be _better off_ if he died here regardless… how much would that make you fear for the future?" He raised the stolen sword, it's normally gleaming silvery-white blade now darkened with crimson. "However... I suppose it matters not. Whether or not existence is torn asunder by the void in his heart none of my concern."

 _"Void in his heart"...?_ Scowling, Sonic shifted into a fighting stance. "None of your concern… Because _you're_ going to kill _me_ , huh? Is that it?"

Another grin, this one a bit bolder and wilder than the rest. "Something like that." He shot forward, Alkarus raised high and poised to strike.

Growling lowly, Sonic started to reach for his own sword with the intent of unsheathing it. Only, something stopped him just as he closed his hand around Caliburn's handle. He was aware of feeling some sort of a pulse of energy from Alkarus, something that resonated deeply throughout his very soul. It was a call of sorts… one he somehow just knew had to be heeded without question.

His growl building into an all-out snarl, Sonic released his hold on his sword and charged at Kethro. Dodging under a hard swing, he channeled pure magic into his palm and then slammed that same palm into his opponent with concussive force. Bones cracked audibly, causing his sensitive ears to fall back reflexively and Kethro to let out a harsh cough of pain.

Taking advantage of his newfound opening, Sonic twisted around and wrenched Alkarus free of Kethro's grip. He found himself swinging the sword before he had even fully registered that he was holding it. His hand and arm felt as though they were being guided through the stroke, allowing no chance for error. _It's almost as if the sword wants to defend its owner as much as I do._ Fueled by a surge of protective instincts and righteous rage, Sonic completed the motion his arm had been making. Power surged, light bloomed, energy flowed, and Sonic watched as Alkarus, this powerful, mysterious, lethal, maybe even _impossible_ sword… cut their enemy clean in half.

The two halves fell to the ground with disgusting _thuds_ before turning to mere dust and then fading away. Feeling sickened, Sonic turned away and hastened back to Jet's side. Though he wanted to clean his friend's sword off for him and re-sheath it, the sheath was still lying under the now unresponsive hawk and Sonic didn't dare to move him. What he had to focus on right now was making sure Jet didn't perish… and that nothing _else_ went wrong before the day was done.

 **~悪意~**

 **2,072 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed. Also, if this scene feels familiar to any of you, that's because a shortened (and admittedly slightly different) version of this scene once appeared in Cream's visions in "Hero". Oh, and I think I neglected to mention it before but this chapter and the other one that was in a different language are actually in Latin. Fun fact, I learned the word "Tenebris" from an archmage character in a video game. All his spells are said in Latin. XD Posted (at about 6:43 a.m.) 10-12-18.**


	16. Timor Mors

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of fear and uncertainty... especially for the one who worries so deeply for others.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes, I agree. :D Yeah, he managed to save _both_ of their lives, and against a man who once could very well have killed them all, no less. Quite the accomplishment. Well, you'll see soon enough what else will happen. ;) Hope you enjoy!**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Timor Mors ("Fear of Death")"**

 **~悪意~**

Sonic and Amy sat together, side by side, in chairs in a hospital room. Jet was laying on their right side in the bed, facing the two of them. He was still unconscious, but Amy's care and the work of the doctors here had saved his life. Silence had persisted in the room for over an hour by this point. Eventually, however, Sonic ended the silence. He had something on his mind, a thank that needed to be voice. It just… didn't come out quite right. "If you hadn't helped when you did..." he started to say so, so very quietly. He trailed off without ever finishing his sentence, but they both knew how it _would_ have ended had he completed his thought aloud.

 _He may have died._

Amy nodded softly, though she didn't reply aloud. Her downcast green eyes were filled with such sorrow and lingering but now unnecessary fear and premature grief. Her thoughts, like Sonic's, were focused on the unfortunate subject of death. She looked back to their unconscious friend. _He really could have died... Granted, he would have revived, but... from what I understand… Immortal or not, he still experiences death just like anyone else would, more or less. The only large difference between him and us in regards to death is that, for him, it's only temporary. Otherwise... no matter what happens... death is still death._ She closed her eyes, willing back long-restrained tears. _None of us can take any more of that._

Time passed, then Sonic spoke up again. "...I need some air," he practically whispered. He couldn't stand to stare at his deathly still friend any longer. At least, not right now. It was too, too hard.

"I understand," Amy murmured, laying a hand gently on his arm. "I'll watch over him for you."

He nodded almost dazedly and stood up. _I still can't believe this is happening. Any of this._ Swallowing hard, he turned away from Jet and Amy and made for the door. "I'm going to call Silver," he told his wife quietly. "See why he's not back yet." No alerts had come out from Silver's communicator, nor had the hedgehog used his mental powers to contact anyone about trouble, so he was surely fine. Sonic just… worried. A lot. Especially with how many people _had_ died recently…

"Of course." Amy twisted around in her seat to look at him. "Let me know what he says?"

"Yeah. I will." With nothing left to say, Sonic stepped outside to make the call. Worry continued to plague him, even as he fought to remind himself that Silver certainly _must_ have been. _Please let him actually be okay. Please, don't let him be wounded, too, or worse…_ Taking a long, deep breath to steady himself, he turned on his communicator and called his son.

 **~悪意~**

 **490 words this time. Sorry this was posted so late in the day, guys. Got caught up in some other activities (such as writing my budget and such). Anyway, as with the last chapter, if this one feels familiar it's because a shortened and simplified version of it was used as one of Cream's visions from back and "Hero". Anyway, hope you all enjoyed.**


	17. The Twilight Cage

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this bittersweet day... especially for the one who never gives up.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, Blazing Winds! Your review to Chapter 15: Yeah. ;_;**

 **Your first review to Chapter 16: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN XD**

 **Your second review to Chapter 17: NO YOU WILL NOT, AND YOU KNOW IT.**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! For the record, I am _so_ sorry that this story has been so sad. Just saying. ;_; No more tears will need to be shed soon, I swear!**

 **~悪意~**

 **"The Twilight Cage"**

 **~悪意~**

Things were quiet and calm when Silver appeared in a flash beside his family. Sonic waited on the sidelines, watching the inevitable ensuing hugs, kisses, reassurances, and so on that were shared between Silver, his wife, and their daughters. He smiled throughout, at least as much as he was able to, but his smile felt strained even to him. When Silver approached, he must have noticed, too, judging by the worry and guilt that tainted his own smile. "You okay, dad? I didn't mean to worry you."

Sonic waved him off gently. "No, you're fine. I understand the need to be thorough."

Silver's golden eyes were clouded. "But you _did_ worry," he accused softly. "All of you, and it's my fault. I'm sorry."

Sighing, Sonic stood and walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Stop apologizing, kiddo. It's okay. Really." Silver nodded against his shoulder, then Sonic pulled back. "More importantly, you're alright, right?"

Smiling a little again, Silver gestured to himself. "A little banged up and definitely tired, but I'm good. Honest."

After doing a once-over of the younger hedgehog with his eyes, Sonic nodded. "Good. But if you're tired, you should rest while you can. Things won't be this quiet for long, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I know." Silver finally looked around. "But… this is a hospital. There aren't exactly hotel rooms here." He paused, then thought to ask, "... _Why_ are we at a hospital?"

Another sigh. "Jet was attacked. Kethro _and_ Malevolence ganged up on him. Don't ask me how he survived that, but he did - and damn-near killed Kethro, too. Kethro's dead now, but we were able to get Jet here before he met the same fate. And Amy used to work here, so she pulled some strings and managed to get him a private room with a couch, some chairs, a TV, and so on for visitors."

"So there's a place to sleep, then," Silver summed up. "Good to know."

Sonic ruffled his son's hair. "So go get some sleep, Silver. We'll see you in a bit."

Feeling dramatic, Silver feigned feeling put-out by this command. " _Yes_ , dad," he drawled jokingly, sticking his tongue out. He then hurried inside before Sonic could reply. Following the feeling of Amy's mind and aura, Silver began walking through the brightly lit halls toward the room in question. He had just started fantasizing about how comfy that couch might wind up being and just how good it was going to feel to get some sleep… when malicious power surged.

In a dark blur of incomprehensible motion, Silver felt as though he was flung through the very fabric of reality itself, only for it all to abruptly cease. The sudden cessation of motion coupled with the change of scenery left Silver reeling. Only once he was able to calm his racing mind and heart did Silver try to move. It was then that he determined that he was floating and somehow… restrained. There was nothing visibly holding him, but he _felt_ like these horrible and powerful tendrils were wrapped around his entire body, holding him in place. Gritting his teeth, he fought to break free, but it was no use. And it was _far_ too late.

An unmistakable _presence_ appeared around him. In the next second, Silver felt his face twist up in extreme pain as every last drop of literal Light began being forcibly drawn from his body in wispy streams out into the blackness of the space around him. His barely stifled cries and moans of agony and resistance fell on deaf ears (assuming his attacker even had any), as Malevolence showed no signs of remorse or of stopping. Nevertheless, despite the ruthlessness of this assault, despite the fact that his own energy was now _feeding_ this monster, despite how much raw _pain_ he was in, Silver fought until with every last ounce of his might to escape… only to very slowly begin going limp against his will.

By the time the last trace of Light was gone, his heart had ceased to beat. Every tiny bit of Silver's Light was now gone, leaving little more than an empty, dead, and nearly soulless husk behind. His eyes were left cruelly open, proof that he had been forced to watch every second of his demise. What had once been gold had turned to a dull, lifeless shade of grey that bordered on black. His body was set adrift within this realm (Malevolence's own, the Twilight cage), cast aside and cared about no longer. And Malevolence, it's hunger now finally sated for now thanks to the hedgehog's powerful Light, retreated to some deeper and darker recesses of this realm in order to sleep…

Until the next time its hunger caused it to wake.

 **~悪意~**

 **826 words this time. I AM _SO_ SORRY. Also, sorry that this chapter is so late. Saturday I wasn't really home to write, yesterday I had zero motivation, and today I was suffering from more or less the same issue. Finally forced myself to write this evening, though, so I guess that counts for something. Oh, and only three more chapters to go! The murders are _done_ now, I swear. Posted (at about 8:45 p.m.) 10-16-18.**


	18. All's Hell That Ends Well

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this sad, sad time... especially for the one who knows the sharp pang of loss far too well.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! FOR THE RECORD, I'M SORRY. ;_; I DIDN'T WANNA DO IT.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"All's Hell That Ends Well"**

 **~悪意~**

Three days had passed since the loss of his son.

Seated in the dimly lit hospital room where Jet still slumbered, Sonic reflected on everything that had taken place throughout this most horrible time in his and everyone else's lives. So many people had died, and in such brutal ways. The reports were all in, so to speak, and now everyone knew the full extent of the losses they were facing.

Soren had been all but disintegrated in an energy blast that had been aimed at his sister. Sunny had been killed within a similar flash of energy, the same one that mysteriously separated everyone somehow. Knuckles and Rouge had been killed within Surfdom City through unclear means, and then that city and two or three others had been virtually wiped off the face of the planet leaving no traces of the settlements or the couple behind. Marthal had been killed by a massive explosion of power from Malevolence itself.

But that wasn't all. Oh, no, that was not all. There had been other deaths, too. Tammy had been savagely torn apart. Locke had died in yet another explosion that had so thoroughly destroyed him and his home that nothing had been left behind. Storm had been shoved or thrown into a lava flow and had died within it. Arthr had been knocked unconscious during an attack over the ocean and had died both from his wounds and presumably from drowning. And then there had been Silver. Silver had been the final death in this bloody conflict, the one whom Malevolence had slain to sate its dark hunger… and Sonic only knew because of Ythene, the "Voice", who had apparently watched… and been unable to lend any sort of aid.

There were so many emotions that needed to be felt. Anger, disbelief, grief, shock, pain, fear… but he was too numb to feel any of them. He was too numb to _deal_ with any of it. He was a broken man all over again, hurting more deeply now than he ever had before, and there was no escaping from any of it. He doubted there would even be any recovery this time, even with the help of his remaining friends and family. He could _not_ get the faces and voices of the dead out of his mind, _especially_ that of his son. It was all just too, too much.

What kind of victory _was_ this?

The kind he wouldn't wish on anyone else, certainly. The kind he couldn't even bring himself to _call_ a "victory". Because a victory was met with actual _success_ , not to mention good feelings like relief and joy, and maybe even a smile or two and just maybe a celebration at some point, but this… This was _not_ a _victory_. This… This was… _devastation_.

In the bed, Jet shifted. Sonic lifted his drooping head and watched in dead silence as his friend started to wake. Though too numb to even cry, to weak to feel a damned thing and certainly too weak to try, he nevertheless forced himself to stand and walked over to the bed. Taking in a long and hollow breath, he resigned himself to being the one to somehow find a way to tell the hawk that it was over. It was all _finally_ over.

 **~悪意~**

 **568 words this time. As promised, all the bloodshed is officially over. Hope you all managed to _somehow_ enjoy this dreary piece. Posted (at about 7:30 p.m.) 10-17-18.**


	19. A World So Cold

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this series of scenes... especially for the one who knows the truth in the end.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah... at what cost, indeed. It really, truly is devastation... :(**

 **~悪意~**

 **"A World So Cold"**

 **~悪意~**

A group funeral was held roughly two weeks after the end.

Not everyone had a body left to bury, but they were each given a headstone nevertheless. To leave them without even that would be just… too much. There were many tears shed, many long hugs and suffocating silences. There was numbness, too much of it, and terrible pain. But it seemed in Sonic's grief-filled mind that it all lasted for but a moment. His existence had narrowed down to a pinprick of awareness, a mere sliver of the reality that he was somehow still existing in. He was harrowed by emotions, yet too numb to feel or process any of them. He was simply… there, existing. And he no longer wanted to.

Months flew by before his depression began to get under control, and it wasn't out of his own willpower that it did so. After much trial and error, Amy and another doctor found him an antidepressant medicine that worked. Finally, for the first time in what had felt to him like years of suffering, he was able to sleep. He was able to eat. He remembered that he was capable of smiling. He found some of his previously lost desire to go outside, see his remaining friends and family, do things he had once found great joy in doing. He was by no means completely _better_ , nothing really was, but he _felt_ a bit more alive… and he supposed that that was enough for now.

It was around this time that Sonic finally started to see the effects that all this loss of life was having on everyone else. People mourned the losses of their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends… Sadness permeated the air around just about everyone. However, most were proving to be far more resilient than Sonic was. Others were beginning to find their happiness again, and he was grateful for it. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone suffering like he had, or worse. And yet, he knew people did. Cayde and Jason had lost both of their parents and only grandparent all in one fell swoop, after all. Blaze had lost her best friend and husband, and their children had lost their father - who was also Tails's very best friend. Meredith and West had lost their little sister. Jet had lost two of his closest friends (one of which happened to also be one of Wave's best friends). The two Babylonians had also lost one of their _oldest_ friends, too. Shadow had lost his only son, Lia her adoring big brother. Natallie had lost her father, the only family she had left besides her own child. There had been so much death.

Everything was still just too much to think about, even now. This first year would be the hardest of all to get through, and everyone new it. All anyone could do was try to move on. And move on people did, as the months wore on and turned into years, Sonic did everything he could to try to live in the present and not in the past. Life had turned dark, but he would no longer allow that darkness to rule him. He wanted his life back, his happiness and his love and his hope.

He wanted a life full of _Light_ …

 **~悪意~**

Six years after Malevolence's reign of terror, Wave was visiting with her aging mother… perhaps for the last time. Mara was no Hexan. She was a Babylonian, and while Babylonians had extremely long lifespans, they were nothing compared to that of Hexans. As a result, Mara had aged greatly since the Nocturnian War while her daughter and son had remained as young as ever. Wave was still eighteen, only just old enough to be considered an adult (for a Babylonian swallow, that is), and her kid brother remained just that - a kid. All thanks to almost unfathomably slow Hexan aging.

Some days, like this day, Wave felt ungrateful for this gift of longevity. While most of the time she was immensely grateful for it and the magic she had also inherited, it made days like these very… very hard. Sitting on the bed beside her elderly mother, Wave gave the woman a long and firm hug. "I love you momma," she all but whispered. "I know I don't say it enough, but I really love you."

Gentle hands stroked Wave's hair as tired arms wrapped around her. "I love you, too, Wave… more than you will ever know." She rested her chin on her daughter's head. "I love them just as much. Your father and your brother. Tell them for me when they get back?"

Wave fought back tears. Her father, Han, and her brother, Alec, had run to the store to get some things for Mara to help make her more comfortable in her final days. Too late, though, Mara had realized that her time was coming _now_. She could feel it in the very depths of her soul. Wave wanted to call her father and brother, wanted to be able to let them know and to get them back here as quickly as possible, but she had left her communicator at home today. It had become a bad habit of hers over the last couple of years, and now she regretted it more than she could say. Still, she tried to hold onto some measure of hope… for her mother's sake. "They'll make it, momma. They'll get here in time." _Please, let there be enough time._

Mara pulled back from her. Using her thumbs, she brushed away her daughter's tears and then held her face with soft hands. Though she smiled, her smile was profoundly sad. "I hate to see you in so much pain," she murmured. "Promise me you won't grieve too hard? I want my family to be happy, with or without me."

Choking back further tears, Wave nodded. "I'll try," she whispered.

Again, Mara ran her hand over Wave's hair. "I love you," she repeated, her voice weakening. The time was coming. It was nearly here.

Unable to fight back her building grief any longer, Wave cried. Tears spilling down her cheeks, she reached out and clung to her mother once more. "I love you, too." Sobbing, she repeated more quietly, "I love you, too."

Han and Alec returned in time to say goodbye, but Wave barely heard or saw any of it. All she was aware of was holding her mother until the very end, then being gently pulled from her mother once the woman was gone. She clung to her father and brother instead then, and together the siblings cried… letting their grief be known to anyone who cared to look. Only their father's quiet strength and determination to get through this held them together. It didn't make anything any easier, but it grounded them and forced the siblings to remember that they were not in fact as alone as they felt. They still had each other. They still had their father. They still had their friends. And with their help… they would get by.

Somehow...

 **~悪意~**

Multiple long years after Mara's passing, Sonic paid a visit to Tails. The fox was busy working on various inventions and such as per usual, but like always he was willing to talk while he worked. It didn't hinder his focus at all, so he never minded. So, the pair spent a good hour or so just chatting about this and that, spending no significant time on any topics in particular. They spoke of nothing too serious, not wanting to taint this day with sadness. Eventually, however, Sonic brought up a something specific that had been on his mind for some time now. "You know, Tails, I've noticed something," he stated conversationally.

Tails gave him a curious glance. "Noticed what?" he queried.

Though he shrugged, Sonic didn't hesitate to answer. "Everyone who _should_ be aging _is_. Me, Amy, Blaze, and everyone else. Everyone, that is, except _three_."

"Ah. That." Tails carefully tightened an oddly tiny screw with a very delicate screwdriver. "Well, I can explain why, mostly."

Sonic nodded. "I thought so. What do you know?"

"Well, in _my_ case," Tails began slowly, "it has to due with my radiation, as many odd things about me do." He lazily waved his twin namesakes for emphasis.

"Another mutation?" Sonic asked in surprise.

"No, not at all," Tails answered with a shake of his head. "See, while my radiation is apparently capable of granting new abilities and such through mutations, that hasn't happened more than once so far. And the only new power I've gained in such a manner is, as you know, the regeneration.

That earned a small frown. "You think that's related to this?"

"I do," Tails agreed. "See… that power saved my life during the Nocturnian War, even though I had been effectively vaporized. There must have been little more than mere molecules left behind, and yet I fully regenerated my body, mind, and _everything_ without any issues. If this ability is advanced enough to pull _that_ off, it requires no significant stretch of the imagination to assume that it can affect my aging, too, by regenerating cells and whatnot."

Sonic stared. _That's… amazing._

Though Sonic didn't ask, Tails was quick to clarify, "It's not gonna keep me from aging entirely though, mind you. I'm just a mortal, after all. I'm _meant_ to die someday. If a power existed that would prevent that from ever happening, it would fundamentally change or even damage existence. So, you know, it's not gonna happen."

"But you're gonna stay this age for a long time, huh?"

"Yep." Tails turned his head to grin briefly at Sonic. "I get to be eighteen for _ages_. Lucky me, I guess."

Chuckling, Sonic smiled back. "Yeah, lucky you. _You_ get to stay young for a while yet, unlike me." The two shared a quiet moment of amusement, then Sonic asked, "Now, what about Shadow? Any idea why _he's_ still young?" Shadow was currently about twenty-four and a half… and had been for far too long. He was supposed to be around Sonic's age after all, and Sonic was _nowhere_ near that young anymore.

"Shadow," Tails explained, "will be able to live for… who _knows_ how long, really. That is, so long as his mechanical parts and whatnot are actively maintained and replaced when need be, and especially if they're replaced with better tech when possible."

After giving himself a long moment to process this, Sonic let out a sigh. "...I guess one good thing came out of all those damned experiments Gerald did on him."

"Well, more than one thing," Tails corrected. "He has a lot of abilities, like scanners and such, that serve him very well now that he knows how to use them. But, yeah, this is a good thing as well. Just being a cyborg is gonna keep him alive for a long time to come."

Closing his eyes, Sonic leaned his head back against the wall. _They're both gonna live longer than me, Amy, Blaze, and just about everyone else. But… at least they won't be alone. They'll have each other, Jet, and Wave. They'll all have each other._ Finding comfort in that fact, Sonic opened his eyes again and brought up the last person on his mind. "Tails… what about Espio."

Tails stopped. He stared at his invention in a manner that clearly indicated he was thinking very, very hard. Finally, he laid his tools down on his table and turned to face Sonic fully. "All reasonable consideration about his lack of any remarkable abilities, mechanical parts, and so on tells me that he _should_ be aging. Why he isn't is… beyond me. I don't understand it any more than you do."

Now Sonic was the one who stared. "What the hell…?" But Tails didn't answer. This time, he had no answer to give.

 **~悪意~**

When Sonic entered Jet's office in the palace on New Babylon two months after his visit with Tails, he found a note sitting on the desk. It was utterly impossible for him to not recognize his friend's dark, elegant penmanship, and he picked up the paper. It simply read, _"Know you said you were coming by, just had to go deal with something. Be back in about twenty minutes."_

Huffing, Sonic set the note back down. "Jerk. Making plans without me."

Smirking a little at his own weak joke, he went ahead and took a seat in his friend's chair. He took some time to look around the room at the pedestals with the breakables on them, the priceless ancient tapestries and paintings and such on the walls, at all the work on Jet's desk… _And I'm bored already. Lovely._ Sighing, Sonic leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. He intended to just sort of relax and allow his thoughts to wander, but he wound up dozing off instead.

Seemingly mere seconds later, a hand gently shaking his shoulder startled him awake. "Relax," said a familiar voice. "Honestly, it's just me."

Turning his head, Sonic frowned at Jet. "Don't _do_ that, you asshole."

Jet waved him off and responded flippantly, "Then don't go to sleep in my chair."

Sonic huffed at him. "Don't be gone for so long next time if you want me to stay awake," he replied. "I'm old. That means I'm _tired_."

"Excuses," Jet huffed back. "I've heard about enough of them out of you this week."

"That's _my_ line."

"No."

"Jerk."

"Hardly."

A second or two passed, and then the pair of friends finally gave up trying to hide their amused smirks. Sonic got up out of the chair. "It's good to see you. I take it that whatever was going on earlier this week has been resolved?"

Knowing Sonic was referring to the issue that had forced Jet to cancel their original plans to meet up four days ago, Jet nodded. "Yeah. It's been taken care of."

"Nothing too serious?" Sonic asked.

"No, it was," Jet responded. "There was a massive security breach in some of our planetary defense systems. Like I said, it was dealt with."

Jet was beating around the bush a bit and being vague, so Sonic clued in to what was going on here. "Guessing you can't say anything more than that, huh? _Because_ of planetary security and all."

"Yeah," Jet confirmed simply.

Shrugging, Sonic nodded. "No worries. I get it. Anyway, are we still on for a race? I may be old, but I bet I can still kick your ass."

In response, Jet treated his friend to rare open grin. "You're on."

Grinning right back at him, Sonic led the way outside.

 **~悪意~**

A number of years after Sonic's race with Jet, Blaze passed away of old age. Being a cat, she held a shorter lifespan than any hedgehog. That meant that Sonic had been grimly anticipating her death for some time. However, that could never make it any easier to look at her now. She was laying on the couch, buried under the warm blankets that had been keeping her comfortable in her final days while her grown children had cared for her. She looked to be merely sleeping, but he could never convince himself that that was actually the case.

Fighting to maintain his composure for the sake of her children and grandchildren, all of whom were currently present and grieving fiercely already, he reached out and shakily covered her head with one of the blankets. He could already feel his own grief stabbing violently at his heart. It felt like such a short time ago that Silver had died, and now Blaze was gone as well… He knew it had been _years_ since that horrible day, but this… this was still…

Unable to remain calm any longer, Sonic excused himself outside… and cried.

 **~悪意~**

Amy spent a day visiting with Wave at the swallow's home in Future City six years after Blaze's death. The two were doing their usual thing, talking, engaging in banter, arguing lightheartedly about the rival water sports teams they each enjoyed, bickering playfully, poking fun at one another, and just all around having a good day. Nothing terribly sad was ever discussed, and by all accounts the day was good. And yet, Wave couldn't stop the thought from crossing her mind… the thought that she was going to miss her friend _so_ much when she finally passed.

But that was all the more reason to enjoy the _hell_ out of days like these for as long as they could.

 **~悪意~**

In the early morning hours, several more years after Blaze's death, Sonic and Amy sat in bed together. Neither wanted to get up, each feeling far too somber to want to leave the other's side. They had made the mistake of bringing up their growing ages and the inevitability of their eventual passing, and now they both felt terrible. Neither of them wanted to think about their own deaths, let alone the likelihood that one of them would pass before the other did. Still, though… the topic had to be addressed. "We both know that I'm going to be the first one to go," Amy sighed.

Sonic's eyes clouded over. "Ames…"

"I know my lifespan is shorter than yours, Sonic. Don't try to lie to me about it." Sighing, Amy brushed some of her hair out of her face. "But I don't want you to let yourself suffer again if and when I die first."

" _If_ you do," Sonic said quietly. "But if I end up going first instead of you… I want you to try to be happy, too."

Amy nodded. "Promise me, then? If I die first, do you promise to try to live as happily as possible instead of wallowing in your grief for the rest of your life?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I promise, Ames." Sonic took his wife's hand into his own. "I swear it."

"Good. And I promise, too." Amy leaned forward and hugged him. "With all the strength of my heart."

Wrapping his arms around her, Sonic managed a small smile. "That's a hella powerful promise, then," he murmured.

"You had better believe it is." Pulling back, Amy gave him a smile of her own and then kissed his cheek. "Now, come on. That's enough wallowing for both of us for today. Let's go get some breakfast."

Sonic grinned cheekily at her. "I'll cook."

That earned a slap to his arm and a happy laugh. "You will _not_! You haven't managed to burn this house down yet, and I won't let you try today!"

They climbed out of the bed. "Aw, come on," Sonic chuckled. "I can just wipe out the fires, anyway."

"Touch anything in my kitchen and I'll serve you nothing but burnt food for the rest of the week," Amy threatened with another laugh. She led the way out of the room.

Feigning regret, Sonic sighed dramatically. " _Fine_ … you win. I won't cook." He exited the room after her, following the sound of her laughter into the hall… and banished all previous negative thoughts from his mind for now.

 **~悪意~**

A sparring match between Jet and Wave one year after Sonic and Amy made their promises to one another took on fresh ferocity the more troubled the pair's thoughts grew. These days, they spared not because either of them truly needed this sort of training anymore… but more because it kept their skills sharp. It also helped to keep their thoughts off of negative topics. Such as the fact that they were actively outliving just about _everyone_ around them.

This was a reality that Jet had been facing for years and had resigned himself to a very long time ago. For Wave, however, this was still a relatively new concept. This was _hard_ for her. And coping with this was… difficult. She didn't really know how to go about it, and Jet had never been particularly skilled at helping out with that sort of thing. So, he had fallen back on a tactic that had helped him cope in the past. And much to Wave's surprise… it was helping _her_ as well. When he had proposed this sparring match, she had definitely been skeptical. Now, however, she was glad they were doing it. It was helping her get through today… and that was all she needed.

 **~悪意~**

Seated in Shadow's house a year after Jet and Wave's sparring match, Tails sighed a little. "I still can't fully wrap my head around how long we're gonna live, Shadow." Shadow just shrugged, offering up no comment at this point, so Tails continued unimpeded. "I mean… it's just so wild, I guess, knowing we're gonna be so young for so long, you know?" Shadow offered another vague shrug, and Tails thought for a time about everything he had just said. Then, eventually, he added, "I think I understand now the reality Sonic must have faced when he was a kid… why he was so reluctant to make friends with us, knowing he was destined to live longer."

Silence reigned for some time following Tails's statement, then Shadow surprised Tails by sighing a little… and making a quiet admission of his own. "...I finally understand the innate suffering the Immortals were born to suffer through," he murmured, "and the reasons behind Jet's own unspoken pain." He gazed down at the floor and quietly finished, "I understand the Immortals in general, I suppose… at least as much as an outsider can."

Remembering how much Shadow had once disliked and possibly even hated these mysterious entities for their lack of direct help throughout many a war and struggle, as well as Shadow previous dislike overall for Jet in _general_ (the two had simply never gotten along from the very start for a number of years), Tails knew that this statement was deep. "Yeah… I think I get it now, too." He looked over at his friend. "Guess it's a good thing we're all gonna be around to help each other out, then. Pain is so much easier dealt with when you're not alone."

Shadow shifted his gaze to the glass in his hand and slowly swirled the liquid within. When he finally spoke again, his words surprised Tails once more. "...I suppose it is."

 **~悪意~**

Three too-short years after Tails's enlightening visit with Shadow, Amy finally passed away. Laying in a hospital bed where she had once worked, she looked as though she had merely drifted off to sleep and never woken up. Her grown children and her husband (there were no grandchildren to speak of) gathered around the bed with Silver and Blaze's remaining family, as well as Shadow, Lia, and Shen. Tails, Wave, Jet, and everyone else were on their way, but not yet here.

Everyone who was here grieved in their own ways, but none so deeply as Sonic, Emi, and Grey. Brother and sister held one another, hugging tightly and trying not to cry while Sonic sat in a chair beside the bed with his head in his hands. His eyes were tightly squeezed shut but this did nothing to keep the tears from spilling down his face regardless. When his brother walked over and unexpectedly placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, it helped… but only so much. Amy was gone now, after all. Sonic _loved_ her, and now she was gone. There were no words for how much it hurt.

Or how much he wished it had been him instead of her.

 **~悪意~**

One month after Amy's passing Shadow stood outside of Sonic's home. He, like just about everyone else, had been taking care to visiting the elderly hedgehog as frequently as possible to prevent him from becoming isolated with his pain. Today, he was visiting his half-brother alongside Silver and Blaze's children and grandchildren. Shadow hung back for now, watching in silence as Sonic interacted with the others. Though he smiled, Shadow noticed that that smile was strained… trained forevermore with a profound sadness that he could never hope to hide.

Reading his intentions, one of Shadow's retinal scanners activated and analyzed Sonic's aging form. As Shadow had suspected they would, the data his scan had gathered indicated that Sonic's time was coming soon. Perhaps sooner than it should have been, but with his heart as broken as it was… it was to be expected. Still, _expected_ didn't translate to _easy_.

As much as Shadow had always tried to distance himself from others, he still found all of this to be extremely difficult to deal with. Deactivating his scanner, Shadow searched his own heart, trying to discern the nature of his own emotions… the hardest ones of all for him to understand. Eventually, however, he simply shook his head as though that action alone would clear it. Then, finally, he pushed himself off of the tree he had been leaning against and walked over to the group.

He joined them as quietly as ever, saying nothing to anyone initially. And yet, for once… willingly joined in on the interaction. It was likely among the last he would ever have with Sonic, and he knew it. The fact that he chose now to make a meaningful effort to spend time with the other man was purely coincidental. Or, at least… that was what he _said_. The fact that Sonic knew better and managed to smile about it…

That was good.

That was very, very good.

 **~悪意~**

 **4,376 words this time. I am _so_ sorry that this is, like, four days late. I completely lost my motivation for a couple of days, and then after that I was playing around with a new bit of tech I just bought (had tons of fun with it, too, but that kept me from writing even longer). Sorry, everyone. I'll have the next chapter up on time tomorrow. That is going to be the _final_ chapter of this story. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Posted (at about 1:25 p.m.) 10-22-18.**


	20. Brotherhood

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this quiet farewell... especially for the one who is left behind.

 **~悪意~**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, that was a lot of timeskipping, but it was necessary. ^-^" Anyway, you guessed right, but this chapter isn't too painful overall. Promise. Hope you enjoy it.**

 **~悪意~**

 **"Brotherhood"**

 **~悪意~**

Lost in a state somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, Sonic was dimly aware of hearing his bedroom door open. It took a moment or to, but he forced his eyes open. He managed a small smile as the door closed. "You made it."

He watched quietly as Jet walked over and sat down in a chair beside the bed. "I said I would," he returned evenly.

"Yeah. You did." With some effort, Sonic drew in a weak breath and then asked, "The others?"

"On their way," Jet assured immediately. "Just relax. They're coming."

Sonic's chest felt tight. Breathing was difficult. He felt the weight of time pressing down on him, and knew his end was nearly upon him. "Where?" he rasped.

Sounding a touch contrite, Jet admitted, "I don't know." Sonic tried to sit up, but Jet quickly stopped him by placing his hands on the hedgehog's shoulders. "Take it easy, Sonic," he reprimanded, gently pushing the much older man back down. "They'll get here as soon as they can."

As much as he wanted to, Sonic couldn't make himself believe that anyone else would get here fast enough. "They won't make it in time," he managed to say despite his increasingly labored breaths. "It's… just about time, I think."

Jet's pure blue eyes were clouded over. "...Yeah. I know." His voice was quiet. Nearly a whisper.

Far too tired to keep his eyes open anymore, Sonic gave in to his overwhelming desire to close them. Struggling to draw in enough breath to sustain himself, he whispered, "Stay with me?"

A hand came to rest again on Sonic's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere." The promise was soft… yet firm. Hearing it was enough to finally allay some of Sonic's powerful fear of dying alone as he nearly had earlier today. That relief soothed him into a sort of sleep that he had never before known. As blackness took him and his breathing stopped…

He saw light.

Time passed, who knew how much of it, before Jet came out of his numb state enough to realize that other people were pouring into the room. He blinked, bringing Sonic's motionless face back into focus again. He stared, expressionless, for a long time at his closest friend, unable to truly process the death they were all now facing. It felt too surreal, too impossible, even though a part of his mind argued that it _was_ very possible... and it had always been meant to happen someday.

Eventually, he forced himself to move. In silence, he stood and backed out of the growing crowd. While everyone else grieved and comforted one another, he slipped out of the room and then out of the house without drawing even the tiniest sliver attention from anyone. Feeling more alone now than he had felt in a very, _very_ long time, he walked away... not knowing where he was going and not caring. He needed time to sort himself out before he could properly face the others. And, unfortunately...

He had all the time left in existence.

 **~悪意~**

 **END OF STORY. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE NEXT ONE, "GUARDIAN"!**

 **529 words this time. This marks the official end of the story, guys... Sorry to end it on such a sad note, but that's just how it's gonna be this time. The next story won't be so dark and horrible, though. On that note, keep an eye out for the first chapter of "Guardian" tomorrow as the note above says! After I post this chapter, I'll post the playlist (I know it's gonna be barren, sorry about that) and then mark this as complete. Posted (at about 11:40 a.m.) 10-23-18.**


	21. Bonus Chapter: Playlist

_EVERY SONG LISTED CAN BE FOUND ON YOUTUBE._

 _* = The main theme (if there are two or more of these for one character/event/whatever, it means that there's a tie, as far as which fits best; each character/event/whatever can have up to four)._

 _# = Two or more characters share the same theme_

 _Every character/event/whatever is allowed to have two songs from the actual Sonic games and whatnot. But just two. And, in general, each character/event/whatever can have up to four main themes._

 **~悪意~**

 **Theme Songs of "Eternal Shadow Falls" (The Story as a Whole):**

After the Fall _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

*Waiting For Gods _(by Epic Score)_

Destiny Of The Chosen _(by Immediate Music)_

*All Is Hell That Ends Well _(by Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Heroes:**

 _(This part of the playlist will only contain theme songs for the groups as a whole and the death themes since none of the main themes for anyone have changed at this point. Kethro also has no themes listed in the villains section because his have not changed, either. And Black Doom just doesn't have any because he was too minor a character for me to bother with themes for him.)_

 **The Heroes (As a Whole Group):**

*Protectors of the Earth _(by Two Steps From Hell (The title is a coincidence, I swear…))_

*Heroes _(by Generdyn Music [feat. Zayde Wolf] (Title is a coincidence, but the song is perfect.))_

 **Soren (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Sunny (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Knuckles (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Rouge (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Marthal (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Tammy (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Locke (Death):**

*Eternal Sorrow _(Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Storm (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Arthr (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Silver (Death):**

*Hurt _(Two Steps From Hell)_

 **Mara (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Blaze (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Amy (Death):**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Sonic (Death):**

*Old Friend _(from Naruto Shippuden)_

 **The Immortals (As a Whole Group):**

Orion _(by Two Steps From Hell (This fits really well, just isn't a perfect fit.))_

Starfall _(by Two Steps From Hell (Another good but not perfect fit.))_

 **Fight:**

*Creator of Worlds (by YouTuber "Epic Score" _(A purely coincidental title for a very epic song. And yeah, I know they didn't fight in this story, but still.))_

 **Deaths:**

 _(NONE FOUND YET. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.)_

 **Villains:**

 **Malevolence:**

#*Eternal Shadow Falls _(by Epic Score)_

*Prepare for the End _(by Epic Score)_

Yogensha _("Prophet"; from Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 05)_

 **Malevolence's Creatures:**

*Leader of Armies _(by Epic Score)_

Hidan _(from Naruto Shippuden OST 2, Track 06)_

Akatsuki _(from Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track 10)_

*Hitotsuba Chikara _("Jinchuuriki"; Naruto Shippuden OST 1, Track, 12)_

 **Places:**

 **The Twilight Cage (realm):**

#*Eternal Shadow Falls _(by Epic Score)_


End file.
